BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Johnson & Johnson Beats Wall Street Expectations; Raises Sales Forecasts Following Latest Round of Price Hikes on Brand Name Prescription Drugs Earlier This Month
This week, Big Pharma giant Johnson & Johnson reported fourth quarter earnings, beating Wall Street analysts’ expectations. The expectation-beating earnings report comes on the heels of Johnson & Johnson hiking prices on 15 prescription drugs in its portfolio earlier this month.
During Johnson & Johnson’s fourth quarter earnings call, Joaquin Duato, chief executive officer (CEO) of Johnson & Johnson, was bullish on continued growth of the drug companies’ already blockbuster profits (being fueled by egregious pricing practices and anti-competitive tactics that keep price high for American patients): “These moves fuel our confidence that growth in 2026 would be faster than in 2025. And we have line of sight to double-digit growth by the end of the decade, which is notable as Johnson & Johnson is the only healthcare company that will soon deliver more than $100 billion in annual revenue.”
Get a full recap of Johnson & Johnson’s Q4 earnings here:
Johnson & Johnson
- Johnson & Johnson reported fourth quarter earnings well ahead of Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
- The Big Pharma giant brought in sales of $24.56 billion, beating expectations of $24.1 billion.
- The company’s multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex, saw $3.9 billion in Q4 sales, with total sales of $14.4 billion for 2025.
- Johnson & Johnson forecasts sales of $99.5 billion to $100.5 billion for 2026, up from $93.5 billion to $93.9 billion in 2025.
Johnson & Johnson’s earnings go hand in hand with the steady pattern of hiking prices on blockbuster drugs.
Johnson & Johnson
- Johnson & Johnson has hiked prices on 15 prescription drugs so far in 2026, including a five percent increase on psoriasis drug Stelara.
- Johnson & Johnson hiked prices on 31 prescription drugs in 2025, including a 5.5 percent increase on multiple myeloma drug Darzalex and a 4.7 percent increase on psoriasis drug Stelara.
- Johnson & Johnson engaged in 35 price hikes in 2024, including a 6.3 percent increase on Darzalex, and 5 percent increases on Erleada and Stelara.
- According to a December 2024 ICER report, price hikes that were unsupported by new clinical evidence on the multiple myeloma drug Darzalex led to additional consumer spending of $190 million.
- Johnson & Johnson also engaged in 36 price hikes in 2023, including a 4.5 percent increase on Darzalex, a 5 percent increase on Erleada and a 4 percent increase on Stelara.
- Spending on the company’s blockbuster cancer drug Imbruvica is expected to exceed $41 billion between 2027 and 2036, thanks to an anti-competitive patent scheme that extended a monopoly on the high-priced cancer drug by more than nine years. Imbruvica costs an eye-popping $180,000 per year.
Stay tuned as we continue to monitor fourth quarter earnings calls from brand name drug companies in the coming weeks.
Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.
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