Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the bellwether of healthcare companies, has a strong presence in the pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer care markets across the world. This New Jersey-based company is well known for its baby-care products and brands like Tylenol in addition to drugs like Remicade and Concerta.
However, like many of its peers, JNJ is facing generic competition and pricing pressure for some of the products in its pharmaceutical segment. Moreover, growth rates in the medical devices market have tempered due to headwinds in the form of austerity measures, pricing pressure and a slowdown in elective surgeries. JNJ also had issues with its consumer segment manufacturing facilities.
In this scenario, investor focus remains on late-stage pipeline candidates and their commercial potential, progress in resuming full supply of consumer segment products that had been recalled and performance of new products apart from the usual top-and bottom-line numbers.
JNJ has a pretty good earnings track record with the company delivering positive earnings surprises in each of the last four quarters with an average surprise of 5.2%. Estimate revisions are, however, mixed with analysts upping their estimates for 2014 and lowering the same for 2015.
Currently, JNJ has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings Beat: JNJ beat on fourth quarter earnings by a couple of cents. Our consensus called for EPS of $1.25, and the company reported EPS of $1.27.
Revenues Miss: Revenues, however, fell short of expectations. Johnson & Johnson posted revenues of $18.3 billion, compared to our consensus estimate of $18.5 billion.
Key Stats: Once again, the pharmaceutical segment delivered with new products performing well. Recently launched hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, Olysio, however, declined 59.7% on a sequential basis.
J&J provided guidance for 2015 – the company expects earnings in the range of $6.12 to $6.27 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at $6.12 per share.
Stock Price: Shares are down slightly (0.9%) in pre-market trading following the release.
Check back later for our full write up on this JNJ earnings report later!
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