Johnson & Johnson (J&J) leaned on strong demand for anti-inflammatory drug Tremfya (guselkumab) to offset steep erosion in other areas of its immunology portfolio, resulting in strong overall Q3 performance.
The big pharma company’s sales grew nearly 6% to reach $25.4bn for the quarter, exceeding an analysts’ consensus estimate of $25.28bn, as per LSEG data. As usual, J&J’s pharma division contributed the lion’s share of revenue, totalling $16.8bn. The remainder came from its medtech segment.
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J&J’s medicines segment grew 7.9%, driven primarily by Tremfya. Global sales for the interleukin-23 (IL-23) blocker surged by 68.3% to generate $2.4bn, with performance buoyed by label expansions over recent years. Initially US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for plaque psoriasis in 2017, the drug has won several subsequent authorisations in psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease, which have significantly expanded the patient base.
Overall immunology sales grew only 1.3%, dragged down by performance from products that have lost patent protection. Stelara’s (ustekinumab) sales decreased by 54.4%, while Remicade (infliximab) and Simponi (golimumab) dropped by 17.3%.
Oncology and neuroscience both continued their positive momentum from earlier quarters this year, growing 16.4% and 17.3% respectively. However, pulmonary hypertension, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular/metabolism all regressed.
Still, the quarter’s performance was enough for J&J to raise its 2026 guidance. The company now expects sales to grow by a midpoint value of 6.6%, up from the 6.5% previously stated in July. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) will now reach a midpoint of $11.10, up from the initial target of $11.04.
A lower EPS for Q3 was due to the substantial outlay J&J made in the dealmaking arena. This included a $1bn acquisition of Firefly Bio at the end of July, and a multi-billion-dollar license agreement with Sail Biomedicines in the same month. A one-time charge following a settlement to resolve the talcum powder lawsuit also impacted EPS value in Q3.
For medtech, worldwide sales grew by 2.5%, primarily driven by cardiovascular performance. This was headlined by Shockwave, the intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) company that J&J bought for $13.1bn in 2024. Sales for the subsidiary grew 16.8% in Q3 as uptake for the artery disease treatment grows. Electrophysiology, which includes the pulsed field ablation (PFA) system Varipulse, saw its sales increase by nearly 5%.
