Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported first-quarter revenue and profit that surpassed Wall Street's forecasts, fueled by robust sales of its oncology portfolio, particularly the multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex.
The company announced quarterly sales of $21.89 billion, a 2.4% increase year-over-year and exceeding analysts' projections of $21.56 billion, according to LSEG data.
On an adjusted basis, J&J earned $2.77 per share during the quarter, up 2.2% from the previous year and above the $2.59 per share expected by analysts.
J&J's innovative medicines unit saw a 2.3% rise in quarterly sales to $13.87 billion, also beating analyst estimates of $13.43 billion.
This growth was significantly propelled by a 20% surge in sales of Darzalex, which generated $3.24 billion in the first quarter, outperforming the anticipated $3.05 billion.
Another key cancer drug, Carvykti, developed in partnership with Legend Biotech (NASDAQLEGN), also exceeded expectations with sales of $369 million against an estimated $324 million.
Overall, J&J's cancer drug sales jumped by nearly 18% globally to $5.68 billion.
However, not all segments performed as strongly.
Quarterly medtech revenue reached $8.02 billion, a 2.5% increase year-over-year but falling short of Wall Street's $8.17 billion estimate.
J&J Chief Financial Officer Joe Wolk stated in an interview that the company remains optimistic about the medtech business, anticipating stronger performance in the second half of the year, as previously indicated in their January guidance.
Meanwhile, sales of the company's blockbuster psoriasis treatment Stelara experienced a decline of over 33% to $1.63 billion in the first quarter, although this figure still beat analysts' estimates of $1.42 billion.
Looking ahead, J&J has raised its annual sales forecast by $700 million at the midpoint, now expecting sales between $91.6 billion and $92.4 billion, compared to the previous range of $90.9 billion to $91.7 billion.
This upward revision is attributed to the acquisition of Intra-Cellular's leading schizophrenia drug, Caplyta.