Shares of Johnson & Johnson sank 3.2% in premarket trading Tuesday after the pharmaceutical and consumer products company topped first-quarter profit expectations but missed on revenue, and cut its full-year outlook, as the pharmaceuticals business disappointed. Net income fell to $5.15 billion, or $1.93 a share, from $6.20 billion, or $2.32 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to $2.67 from $2.59 to beat the FactSet consensus of $2.58. Sales grew 5.0% to $23.43 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $23.62 billion. Pharmaceutical sales increased 6.3% to $12.87 billion but was below the FactSet consensus of $13.53 billion, while worldwide sales of its COVID-19 vaccine rose to $457 million from $100 million but fell in the U.S. to $75 million from $100 million. For 2022, J&J cuts its guidance ranges for adjusted EPS to $10.15 to $10.35 from $10.40 to $10.60 and for revenue to $94.8 billion to $95.8 billion from $95.9 billion to $96.9 billion. Separately, J&J raised its quarterly dividend by 6.6%. J&J’s stock has gained 3.9% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 5.3%.
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