Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Stock Drops 2% After Beating Earnings — Here’s Why

TLDR

• J&J reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $2.90, beating the $2.85 analyst estimate
• Q2 sales hit $25.31 billion, up 6.6% year-over-year, edging above Wall Street forecasts
• Full-year sales guidance raised to ~$101.1 billion; EPS guidance lifted to $11.68 at midpoint
• Tremfya sales surged 72.5% to $2 billion; Darzalex brought in $4.2 billion
• JNJ stock fell ~2% in premarket trading despite the beat and raised guidance

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Johnson & Johnson reported second-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates, then watched its stock slip anyway. JNJ fell roughly 2% in premarket trading on Wednesday, even as the company raised its full-year outlook.

Johnson & Johnson, JNJ

Adjusted EPS came in at $2.90, ahead of the $2.85 analysts had expected. Total sales reached $25.31 billion, up 6.6% from a year ago and above the consensus estimate of $25.05 billion.

The market reaction wasn’t surprising given the setup. J&J had already gained nearly 23% in 2026 heading into the print, well ahead of the S&P 500’s 10% rise. Results that beat but didn’t blow past expectations were unlikely to move the needle much higher.

$JNJ Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS

🔹 Sales: $25.31B (Est. $25.02B) 🟢; +6.6% YoY
🔹 Adj EPS: $2.90 (Est. $2.86) 🟢; +4.7% YoY
🔹 Adj Net Earnings: $7.08B; +5.7% YoY

FY26 Guide:
🔹 Sales: $100.8B to $101.4B (Est. $101.06B) 🟡; +7.3% YoY
🔹 Adj EPS: $11.60 to $11.75 (Est. $11.58)…

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 15, 2026

The pharmaceutical unit was the clear standout. It posted $16.38 billion in quarterly sales, ahead of the $16.1 billion analysts had penciled in.

Tremfya was a headline number. The psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease drug posted $2 billion in sales, a 72.5% jump year-over-year and well above LSEG estimates of $1.74 billion. Tremfya is increasingly important as J&J works to fill the hole left by Stelara, whose revenue has declined sharply since biosimilar competition launched in 2025.

Darzalex, the blood cancer treatment, contributed $4.2 billion in sales, roughly in line with estimates. Carvykti and Tecvayli also helped drive 6.8% growth in the Innovative Medicine oncology segment.

MedTech Drags, Impella in Focus

The MedTech division was the weak spot. Sales came in at $8.93 billion, growing 4.5% but falling just short of the $9 billion Wall Street had expected.

Within MedTech, Impella heart pump sales fell 2% year-over-year. That’s a sharp reversal from the 14% growth posted in Q1. CFO Joseph Wolk attributed the drop to a U.K. study published earlier this year that raised questions about Impella use during certain high-risk coronary procedures.

Wolk said J&J expects the product line to return to growth as the company publishes more supporting data. “We have a big data set coming out probably in the first half of next year that should allay any fears,” he said.

Guidance Raised

J&J lifted its full-year outlook on both lines. The company now expects sales of approximately $101.1 billion at the midpoint, up from $100.8 billion previously. Adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $11.68 at the midpoint, from $11.55.

Wells Fargo analyst Lawrence Biegelsen had noted before the print that J&J had only raised its sales guidance during a Q2 report once in the last four years, flagging it as a potential positive signal.

J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott described J&J as “one of the cleaner names” in its peer group as it moves beyond the Stelara patent cliff.

J&J now has 28 platforms each generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue, according to Wolk.