Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) topped Wall Street's first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, fueled by strong pharmaceutical growth.
Earnings registered $2.06 per share vs. $2.02 per share expected by analysts. Revenue was $20 billion vs. $19.46 billion expected.
J&J reported net income of $4.4 billion, or $1.60 per share, in the first quarter. After stripping out amortization expenses and special items, the company earned $5.6 billion, or $2.06 per share, beating analyst estimates of $2.02 per share.
In the quarter, J&J's revenue increased about 13% to $20.01 billion from $17.77 billion a year earlier.
On an operational basis, J&J's revenue grew 8.4%. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and currency, worldwide sales were up 4.3%.
J&J boosted its full-year sales estimate to between $81 billion and $81.8 billion, up from $80.6 billion and $81.4 billion, reflecting operational growth of 4% to 5%. The company reiterated its adjusted earnings forecast to between $8 and $8.20 per share, reflecting operational growth between 6.8% and 9.6%.
The pharmaceutical business posted $9.84 billion in revenue, a 15% year-over-year operational increase. Sales of blood-cancer treatments Imbruvica and Darzalex surged in the quarter.
Excluding currency, Imbruvica's revenue grew 35% to hit $587 million worldwide, topping StreetAccount's estimates of $579.7 million. Darzalex revenue rocketed 64% excluding currency, to reach $432 million in worldwide sales, surpassing estimates of $395.7 million.
Shares in J&J toppled Tuesday morning by 46 cents to $131.31
