TL;DR
JNJ reported Q1 EPS of $2.70 and revenue of $24.06B — up 10% year-over-year — even as Stelara lost 60% of its sales to biosimilar competition.
MSM Perspective
JNJ investor relations and Qz report the Q1 beat on cancer drug strength, with raised full-year guidance.
X Perspective
X financial accounts highlight the Stelara collapse as a cautionary tale; the cancer drug beat is treated as the counterweight that proves the model works.
Johnson & Johnson reported first-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat analyst estimates: earnings per share of $2.70 and revenue of $24.06 billion, up approximately 10% year-over-year. [1] The company raised its full-year guidance. The beat came despite a 60% decline in sales of Stelara, the immunology drug whose patent expiration has opened the market to cheaper biosimilar versions. [1]
The cancer drug portfolio absorbed the Stelara shock. Darzalex, a multiple myeloma treatment, continued its multi-year growth trajectory and was the single largest contributor to the revenue beat. [1] JNJ's oncology segment has been the company's most reliable growth engine as it navigates the biosimilar cliff that is eroding its older immunology blockbusters.
The Stelara story is the template for what happens when pharmaceutical patents expire in an era of aggressive biosimilar competition. [1] A drug generating billions in annual revenue can lose 60% of its sales within a year of losing exclusivity. The business model that sustains large pharma companies requires constant replacement of expiring franchises with new protected molecules — and JNJ's oncology pipeline is currently delivering that replacement.
Full-year guidance was revised upward following the Q1 results. [1] Analysts will watch whether the cancer drug momentum can continue to outpace the erosion across the older immunology portfolio through the remainder of 2026.
-- THEO KAPLAN, San Francisco