Johnson & Johnson Lifts Sales Guidance After Q2 Earnings Beat

Investing.com - Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) lifted its annual sales outlook for the year after reporting second-quarter earnings that beat consensus on the top and bottom line.

The company reported earnings per share of $2.58 on revenue of $20.56 billion. That represented a 1.6% increase in sales in constant currencies. Earrnings were supported by a $2 billion pretax gain on the sale of part of the company's medical devices business. Analysts polled by Investing.com forecast EPS of $2.44 on revenue of $20.29 billion.

J&J shares trimmed earlier gains after the release and by 7:21 AM ET (11:21 GMT), they were up 0.4% at $135.20 in premarket trade, having stood at $135.84 before the news.

The company raised its guidance for full-year sales to between 3.2% and 3.7% in constant currencies, up from a previous range around 3%. It left its earnings guidance unchanged.

The shares remain under a cloud of lingering uncertainty while J&J seeks to settle thousands of lawsuits - 14,000 according to media estimates - that claim its talcum powder caused ovarian cancer.

The company itself admitted in Tuesday’s release that it was “unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of legal proceedings.”

Last Friday, the shares fell more than 4% after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the company had hidden knowledge of the product's possible risks from the public.

A grand jury in Washington is examining documents that could help shed light onto what the company may have known about any carcinogens in its products, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

Investing.com analyst Haris Anwar warned ahead of the release that the litigation could continue to pressure the stock for some time, although he was confident that the company has the “company has the resources to fight these claims, thanks to its wide moat and massive cash-generation capabilities."

J&J follows other major healthcare sector earnings this month

On June 18, Bayer AG PK reported second quarter EPS of $0.71 on revenue of $14.5B, compared to forecasts of EPS of $0.69 on revenue of $14.17B.

Helen of Troy Ltd earnings beat analysts' expectations on July 9, with first quarter EPS of $2.06 on revenue of $376.34M. Investing.com analysts expected EPS of $1.69 on revenue of $351.54M

Stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com's earnings calendar

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