New York, Jan 9, 2026, 14:40 (EST) — Regular session
- J&J shares slip after the company laid out a Trump administration drug-pricing agreement linked to tariff exemptions
- Investors weigh whether price concessions are worth it as trade risks ease for the sector
- Next up: J&J’s appearance at JPMorgan’s conference on Jan. 12, followed by quarterly results on Jan. 21
Johnson & Johnson shares slipped about 0.5% to $204.76 on Friday after the company said it struck an agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration to lower drug prices for Americans in return for exemptions from U.S. tariffs. Johnson & Johnson did not say which medicines are included or how large the price cuts would be. 1
The update is in focus as drugmakers face pressure to shrink the gap between U.S. prices and those in other wealthy countries, and Washington has dangled tariff relief — import duties that can raise costs and disrupt supply chains. “Worst-case pricing fears are clearly not coming to pass,” Linden Thomson, a senior portfolio manager at Candriam Asset Management, said this week about the earlier round of industry agreements. 2
Johnson & Johnson said it will join TrumpRx.gov, a direct-to-patient platform, and committed to two new manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Pennsylvania under its previously announced $55 billion U.S. investment plan. Chief Executive Joaquin Duato said the agreement can “deliver real results for patients.” 3
The stock slipped with healthcare trailing the broader tape. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund was down about 0.2% as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust climbed about 0.8%; Pfizer and Merck edged up, while Eli Lilly dropped.
Johnson & Johnson finished Thursday at $205.75. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded in a range of $140.68 to $215.19, according to the company’s investor data. 4
Investors may get more color from management at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, where Johnson & Johnson is slated for a fireside chat on Jan. 12 at 11:15 a.m. ET. The conference runs Jan. 12-15. 5
But it’s not a clean trade-off. With no detail on which drugs are covered or how the discounts would work, traders are stuck guessing how fast pricing pressure could hit margins — and whether those kinds of terms bleed beyond a narrow set of products.
The next hard catalyst lands on Jan. 21, when Johnson & Johnson reports fourth-quarter results and hosts its earnings call at 8:30 a.m. ET — a checkpoint for any read-through to 2026 guidance. 6
