New York, February 15, 2026, 11:27 EST — The market has wrapped up for the day.
- Johnson & Johnson closed out Friday at $243.45, slipping 0.45%.
- A jury in Pennsylvania handed down a $250,000 verdict in the most recent talc baby-powder cancer lawsuit.
- No trading in U.S. markets on Monday, with attention shifting to Tuesday and the looming Feb. 24 dividend cutoff.
Johnson & Johnson slipped 0.45% to $243.45 on Friday, as a new verdict in the talc baby-powder case kept legal risks in focus. Still, shares finished roughly 1.4% above last week’s close.
This verdict has teeth right now — the talc docket keeps making waves, feeding legal expenses and, depending on the day, influencing how investors feel about the stock, regardless of payout size. Plaintiffs’ lawyers are also battling over litigation funding, a reminder the stakes aren’t going away. Reuters puts the federal talc caseload at over 70,000 lawsuits.
There’s a timing quirk: U.S. stock markets will be shut Monday for Presidents Day, leaving traders waiting until Tuesday for their next shot at gauging sentiment. The S&P 500, little changed on Friday, still closed the week off 1.4%—an inflation report tempered Thursday’s tumble but couldn’t erase the loss.
In Philadelphia, a jury handed the family of Gayle Emerson a $250,000 verdict—$50,000 for compensatory damages, $200,000 in punitive—after they argued Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder led to her ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson’s litigation chief, Erik Haas, said the company will appeal, dismissing the case as “meritless and divorced from the science.” Plaintiff attorney Leigh O’Dell countered, saying the jury held the company accountable for Emerson’s death. Reuters
Johnson & Johnson maintains its talc products are safe, free of asbestos. The company pulled its talc-based baby powder from U.S. shelves in 2020. More state court trials are on the docket, with appeals potentially stretching out the process—so each verdict, for traders, just adds another data point, not a final answer.
Health care stocks were firmer Friday, with the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund up roughly 1.1%. Johnson & Johnson, however, trailed behind its sector peers during the session.
For those focused on income, Johnson & Johnson’s declared dividend stands at $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date lands on Feb. 24; shareholders will see payment come March 10. (The ex-dividend date marks when buyers lose eligibility for the upcoming dividend.)
Investors looking for macro signals have the Federal Reserve minutes from the Jan. 27-28 meeting coming up Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET—a release that could jolt bond yields and spill over into defensive names.
Legal results rarely unfold cleanly. If things go south, a fresh jury might slap the company with an even steeper punitive award, or a judge could curb its ability to dodge liability—prompting investors to rethink settlement risk. On the other hand, appeals do sometimes shrink verdicts, though that process grinds on, full of uncertainty.
Markets shut on Monday, so Johnson & Johnson faces its next hurdle when trading resumes Tuesday. Investors are bracing for more news tied to the talc litigation, Wednesday’s Fed minutes release, and the ex-dividend date on Feb. 24.
