Johnson & Johnson Raises 2026 Sales Growth Guidance After Q3 Results

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) held its third-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday. Below is the complete transcript from the call. This transcript is brought to you APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit for a consultation.

View the webcast at Summary Johnson & Johnson reported strong Q3 2026 results with operational sales growth of 6% and revenues exceeding $25 billion, positioning the company to exceed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. 9% growth), driven by strong performance of key products like Darzalex and Tremfya. 5%, with challenges in international markets and the Abiomed business, though the company is optimistic about future prospects with innovations like the OTTAVA robotic system. The company announced strategic acquisitions, including Firefly Bio, and collaborations, such as with Sail Biomedicines, to enhance its oncology and immunology pipeline.

1%, and highlighted a strong cash position with $17 billion in cash and securities. Management remains confident in achieving double-digit growth by the end of the decade, driven by its robust pipeline and strategic focus on high-growth areas. Full Transcript OPERATOR Good morning and welcome to Johnson & Johnson's third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. All participants will be in the listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session of the conference.

This call is being recorded. If anyone has any objections, you may disconnect at this time. If you experience any technical difficulties during the conference, you may press star zero to reach the operator. I will now turn the conference call over to Johnson & Johnson.

You may begin. Ryan Coors, Vice President of Investor Relations Hello everyone, this is Ryan Coors, Vice President of Investor Relations for Johnson & Johnson. Welcome to our company's review of business results for the third quarter of 2026 and our financial outlook for the full year. First, a few logistics.

com. Please note that this presentation contains forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the Company's future operating and financial performance, market position, and business strategy. You are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations of future events using the information available as of the date of this recording. They are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected.

com and on the SEC's website. Additionally, several of the products and compounds discussed today are being developed in collaboration with strategic partners or licensed from other companies. This slide acknowledges those relationships. Moving to today's agenda, Joaquin Duato, our Chairman and CEO, will discuss our business performance and growth drivers.

I will then review the third quarter sales and P&L results. Joseph Wolk, our CFO, will then close by sharing an overview of our capital allocation priorities and updated guidance for 2026. Tom Cavanaugh, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, Innovative Medicine; John Reed, Executive Vice President, Innovative Medicine Research and Development; and Tim Schmid, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Chairman, MedTech, will be joining us for Q&A. To ensure we provide enough time to address your questions, we anticipate the webcast will last approximately 60 minutes.

With that, I will now turn the call over to Joaquin. Joaquin Duato, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Ryan, and good morning everyone. Our strong performance in the third quarter reinforces our confidence in 2026 as a year of accelerated growth and impact for Johnson & Johnson. In Q3, we reported operational sales growth of 6% ahead of analyst consensus and increased sequential growth compared to the second quarter.

With six strategic focus areas—oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular, surgery, and vision—we are leading in areas of higher unmet need where innovation can make the greatest difference for patients. Our powerful combination of Innovative Medicine and MedTech expertise strengthens our competitiveness. Twenty-nine of our products and platforms now generate at least $1 billion in annual sales. Our marketed portfolio continues to perform, our launches are gaining significant traction, and we are advancing our new product pipeline that will sustain our growth into the next decade.

With sales in the quarter of more than $25 billion, we are on track to meet our guidance and exceed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in our company's 140-year history. As we advance our differentiated portfolio and pipeline, we have a clear path to double-digit growth by the end of the decade. 9% with eight brands growing double digits. Let's start with oncology.

We are making progress to redefine cancer care from treatment to cure. In the third quarter, our oncology business grew approximately 17%. Our multiple myeloma portfolio and pipeline are unmatched, with 80% of patients receiving a Johnson & Johnson therapy as part of their treatment journey, and we continue to strengthen the body of evidence supporting our recently launched multiple myeloma therapies and combination regimens. New phase 3 results announced in July demonstrated that the combination of Tecvayli plus Talvey reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 89% as early as the second line of treatment.

S. FDA approval for Rybrevant Faspro in advanced head and neck cancer, a disease with significant unmet needs. In bladder cancer, In Lexo has rapidly emerged as a market leader for new patient share just one year after its launch. Nearly one in three eligible patients started on an In Lexo regimen in the third quarter, demonstrating its growing role in transforming care in high-risk, non—muscle-invasive disease.

During the quarter we also invested to bolster our oncology pipeline. We completed our acquisition of Firefly Bio, adding a promising new degraded antibody—drug conjugate platform that targets drivers of difficult-to-treat cancers including CADAs. Our ambition is to become the number one oncology company by 2030 with sales projected to exceed $50 billion. Turning to immunology, we are building on our 25-year legacy to drive industry-leading innovation for patients.

Tremfya delivered exceptional sales growth of 68% in the quarter, reflecting strong momentum across its indications. , it is now the number one IL-23 inhibitor in new-to-brand share in Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and psoriatic arthritis, and we continue to generate evidence that reinforces Tremfya's clinical differentiation. Based on the landmark STAR study, Tremfya is the first and only IL-23 inhibitor to demonstrate positive outcomes in axial disease clinical trials, including significant improvement in spinal pain, stiffness, and inflammation in patients with psoriatic arthritis.

This momentum reinforces our conviction in Tremfya as a foundational medicine in inflammatory bowel and psoriatic diseases and our belief that it can grow into a $10 billion-plus franchise. Icodide, our first-in-class targeted oral peptide for plaque psoriasis, continues to outpace the recent competitors' launches. More than 20,000 patients have initiated therapy through nearly 9,000 prescribers since Icodide's launch. , we continue to make strong progress on commercial access, with Icodide now broadly covered across all national plans.

Also this quarter, Imavi was approved as the first advanced treatment specifically for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a rare, life-threatening disease that causes severe anemia and fatigue. This new indication builds on Imavi's momentum in generalized myasthenia gravis and reflects its block potential across autoantibody diseases. And we continue to pursue next-generation therapies. In July we announced a collaboration with Sail Biomedicines to advance in vivo CAR-T approaches for immune-mediated diseases.

Next, in neuroscience, we aim to transform the future of brain health by addressing complex nervous system disorders. Today we are the definitive leader in neuropsychiatry. Caplyta reached $1 billion in year-to-date sales, making it our 29th billion-dollar platform, driven by strong uptake as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder. Caplyta is now the fastest growing oral branded therapy in this space, and last month we presented pivotal phase 3 data that show Caplyta significantly and rapidly improved symptoms of bipolar mania.

Spravato also delivered impressive growth of 36% this quarter, reflecting strong demand in treatment-resistant depression. 5%. While we fell short of our expectations for the segment, our ambition and our future direction have not changed. Starting with cardiovascular, we continue to invest in heart recovery, circulatory restoration, and heart rhythm disorders to address the leading global cause of death.

This was another strong quarter for Shockwave, our circulatory restoration business, which grew 17%. The ongoing global launch of Shockwave C2 Aero continues to broaden the reach of our intravascular lithotripsy platforms. VariPulse, our pulsed field ablation platform, reached a major milestone this quarter with more than 100,000 AF patients treated worldwide. BodyPulse Pro, which delivers five times faster ablation speed, has been very well received in Europe, where it is driving double-digit growth, and just last week we received approval for BodyPulse Pro in Japan.

With increasing clinical experience, we are seeing differentiated benefits from VariPulse. In a recent retrospective analysis, VariPulse demonstrated a 68% lower risk of adverse cardiac events compared to a competing pulsed field ablation platform. And in heart recovery, while physician selectivity continued to affect Abiomed performance, we remain confident in the technology and focused on supporting appropriate patient selection. In surgery, we are poised to shape the next era of care through robotics, digital innovation, and advanced instrumentation.

S. FDA granted De Novo authorization for OTTAVA, the world's first stable, integrated soft-tissue robotic system. This is one of the most significant MedTech innovations we will bring to market this decade. OTTAVA's unique architecture, automated features, and next-generation robotic instruments help address surgeon needs for operating room space and better surgical workflows.

Its connection to our open digital ecosystem, Polyphonic, turns procedure data into actionable insights for clinicians. We already signed our first commercial customer for OTTAVA, and we are progressing our development program. Our investigational device exemption trial is already underway in inguinal hernia repair, with future plans for indication expansion into urology and gynecology. Finally, in Vision, we are advancing lifelong eye health to bring better sight to more than 40 million people each year.

S. launch of Tecnis Pure C further strengthened our portfolio of intraocular lenses. During the quarter, Tecnis Pure C and Tecnis Odyssey surpassed 1 million implants worldwide, reflecting continued surgeon adoption and our leadership in personalized vision solutions. We also received CE marking for Acuvue Oasys Max 2-Week reusable lenses, expanding our ACUVUE portfolio in Europe.

Overall, this quarter's strong results demonstrate the impact of the choices we have made to build a foundation for durable growth. We sharpened our portfolio to focus on innovation with the greatest potential to change lives. We proved our ability to grow through a significant loss of exclusivity. Our strategic investments in high-growth areas are delivering results, and our innovation engine continues to drive breakthroughs for patients.

That is why we have the confidence to say that we will finish 2026 strong and that 2027 will be an even better year for Johnson & Johnson. I will now turn the call back over to Ryan. Joseph Wolk, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Joaquin. Moving to our financial results, unless otherwise stated, the percentages quoted represent operational results and therefore exclude the impact of currency translation, starting with Q3 2026 sales results.

4 billion for the quarter, increasing 6%. S. S. Acquisitions and divestitures had a net negative impact on worldwide growth of 10 basis points.

12 a year ago. Results in the quarter were impacted by the proposed talc litigation resolution as well as expenses associated with the Firefly Bio transaction and Sail Biomedicine's collaboration amounting to approximately $7 billion. 5%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted earnings in the quarter were also impacted by expenses associated with the Firefly Bio transaction and Sail Biomedicine's collaboration.

I will now comment on business sales results in the quarter, focusing on the six key areas where meaningful innovation and strong commercial execution are driving our performance and fueling long-term growth, beginning with Innovative Medicine where our financial results reflect the depth of our expertise and innovation in areas of high unmet need across oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. 9%, which underscores the continued strength of our key brands and new launches. S. S.

Divestitures had a negative impact of 10 basis points on worldwide growth. 6%, primarily driven by strong share gains of 5 points across all lines of therapy, with 10 points in the frontline setting, as well as continued market growth, partially offset by OUS pricing headwinds. 2%, driven by share gains across earlier lines of therapy and continued site expansion. S.

S. growth greater than 100%. 1%, driven by share gains due to increased depth of prescribing in the community setting. 5% with strong share gains in the first and second lines driven by continued launch uptake in all regions along with rapid uptake of Ribavant Faspro.

4% with continued share gains and market growth, partially offset by unfavorable patient mix. 2%, driven by continued momentum from the IBD launch with four points of share growth in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, alongside continued market growth. Stelara declined 54%, which reflects continued competitive pressures from biosimilars and the ongoing shift towards novel classes. S.

In neuroscience, Spravato grew 36%, driven by continued share gains reflecting strong physician adoption and increased patient demand. 1%, driven by strong continued launch momentum in adjunctive major depressive disorder and continued demand increases across bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. S. S.

1%, including 20 basis points related to acquisitions. 4%, driven by procedure expansion, commercial execution, and new product performance, partially offset by competitive PFA pressures which were more pronounced than APAC this quarter, as well as the lapping of prior-year OUS. Endodynamics. 5% due to lower patient volume.

S. 5 continuing to gain adoption. 2%, driven by continued adoption of coronary and peripheral products as well as new product launches and the reimbursement in the office lab setting. , Surgery saw a decline of 1%, including a negative impact of approximately 30 basis points from divestitures.

The decline is more notably driven by ongoing expansion of EBP in China, Surgery Transformation Program outcomes across the portfolio, and Middle East disruption which impacted tender timing and ordering patterns.