NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., April 14, 2026, 09:05 EDT
Johnson & Johnson topped Wall Street’s Q1 expectations on Tuesday, helped by surging sales from the cancer therapy Darzalex and the psoriasis drug Tremfya. Those gains made up for a sharp decline in Stelara, which used to be a major driver. Revenue climbed 9.9% to $24.1 billion, beating forecasts of $23.6 billion. Adjusted earnings reached $2.70 a share, also above the $2.66 consensus. The company lifted its 2026 outlook.
The stakes are high for investors tracking J&J, as they’re looking to see if the company can offset the hit from Stelara’s patent expiry—an event that opens the door to lower-priced biosimilars. Stelara pulled in $10.36 billion in 2024. Amgen’s Wezlana became the first Stelara biosimilar to roll out in the U.S. last year.
Johnson & Johnson bumped its full-year reported sales midpoint up to $100.8 billion, a small lift from $100.5 billion, while also edging its adjusted earnings midpoint higher to $11.55 versus the previous $11.53. Sales in the Innovative Medicine segment jumped 11.2% to $15.4 billion. MedTech brought in $8.6 billion, up 7.7%.
Chief Executive Joaquin Duato described the quarter as a “strong start to 2026,” highlighting fresh approvals for Icotyde in the U.S. and Varipulse Pro in Europe. These launches, according to the company, back its goal of hitting double-digit growth again before the decade is out. JNJ.com
Darzalex delivered $4 billion in sales for the quarter, outpacing analyst expectations of $3.4 billion. Tremfya pulled in $1.6 billion, handily topping the $1.2 billion estimate. Stelara, meanwhile, saw sales drop nearly 60% to $656 million. According to Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk, patients are shifting to other therapies instead of jumping straight to biosimilars—J&J is picking up “increased share in Tremfya.” Reuters
The handoff is now a key part of the J&J narrative. Reuters flagged last month that Icotyde—a once-daily oral pill for psoriasis targeting IL-23, a protein linked to inflammation—puts J&J in the mix with Bristol Myers Squibb’s Sotyktu and AbbVie’s Skyrizi. Guggenheim’s Vamil Divan suggested that if Icotyde’s clinical data stands up in real-world use, doctors may pick it up “quite rapid[ly].” Reuters
The next hurdles are clear enough. J&J warned that additional rounds of China’s volume-based procurement program—a state-run bulk-buying push that drives prices lower—could weigh more heavily in the back half of the year. Wolk, meanwhile, pushed back on the idea of enshrining most-favored-nation pricing in U.S. law, describing it as a “back door to price controls” that would peg American drug costs to those overseas. Reuters
J&J shares slipped 0.27% to $237.96 in recent trading. That comes after a roughly 15% climb this year ahead of the results, according to Reuters.
Put simply, J&J’s newer immunology and cancer drugs are picking up the slack—though not by a wide margin. The bump in guidance was modest. Over the coming quarters, Darzalex, Tremfya and Icotyde face the test: can they keep offsetting Stelara’s decline?
