Johnson & Johnson fresh off a $14.6 billion deal to buy neurological drugmaker Intra-Cellular , reported fourth-quarter sales and profit above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, driven by strong sales of its cancer treatments.
The New Jersey-based drugmaker also said it expects 2025 sales of between $90.9 billion and $91.7 billion and to earn between $10.75 and $10.95 per share on an adjusted basis. Analysts were expecting sales of $90.98 billion and a profit of $10.56 per share for 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG.
J&J's fourth-quarter sales stood at $22.52 billion, up 5.3% from a year ago and above analysts' expectations of $22.42 billion, according to LSEG data.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $2.04 per share in the quarter - which includes a 22 cents charge related to its acquisition of medical device-maker V-Wave - nearly 11% lower than the previous year but beating analysts' estimates of $2.01 per share.
Quarterly sales of J&J's cancer drugs rose 19% worldwide, driven by more than $3 billion for multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex, which was up 20.9% from a year ago.
"Darzalex continues to be a pillar brand with respect to performance," said J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk in an interview, noting that sales from Shockwave Medical also helped drive growth.
The company is fostering growth at its medical device unit through deals focused on heart health - including its $13.1 billion deal to acquire Shockwave Medical.
Shockwave generated $258 million in sales for the quarter and $564 million for the year, according to J&J.
J&J's innovative medicine unit brought in fourth-quarter sales of $14.33 billion while its medtech unit generated $8.19 billion, up 4.4% and 6.7% respectively compared to a year ago.
Sales of J&J's blockbuster psoriasis treatment Stelara fell 14.7% to $2.35 billion in the fourth quarter. Analysts' were expecting sales of $2.25 billion, according to LSEG data.
Close copies of Stelara launched in Europe, Canada and a few other markets last year. Several Stelara biosimilars are expected to launch in the U.S. this year.
For the full year, Stelara brought in revenue of $10.36 billion, making up more than 18% of J&J's total drug sales of $56.96 billion for 2024. Analysts were expecting sales of $10.59 billion.
Annual sales of the drug are expected to fall to about $7 billion this year.
Darzalex brought in annual sales of $11.67 billion, making it J&J's biggest-selling drug. Analysts were expecting sales of $11.11 billion for this year.
