Johnson & Johnson Earnings Beat Estimates, J&J Raises 2026 Outlook Despite Stelara Slump

14 April 2026

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., April 14, 2026, 09:05 EDT JNJ.com

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? Reuters

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Khadija Saeed is a financial markets reporter at TS2.tech. Her coverage ranges from stocks and technology to emerging industries and developments across global markets. She studied economics and finance at the London School of Economics and worked in market research before becoming a financial journalist. Follow Khadija Saeed on Google News.

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