J&J beats fourth-quarter earnings expectations, will release Covid vaccine data ‘soon’

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company also said it would release key details on its coronavirus vaccine “soon.”

Here’s how J&J did compared with what Wall Street expected, according to average estimates compiled by Refinitiv:

• Adjusted EPS: $1.86 per share versus $1.82 expected.

• Revenue: $22.48 billion versus $21.67 billion expected.

“I’m incredibly proud of our Johnson & Johnson teams around the world for going above and beyond to meet stakeholder needs,” J&J CEO Alex Gorsky said in a press release. “We continue to progress our COVID-19 vaccine candidate and look forward to sharing details from our Phase 3 study soon.”

J&J’s share price was essentially flat in premarket trading following the report.

J&J’s pharmaceutical business, which is working on a coronavirus vaccine, generated $12.26 billion in revenue, a 16% year-over-year increase. The company’s consumer unit, which makes products such as Listerine, generated $3.6 billion in revenue, up 1.4% from a year earlier. Its medical device unit generated $6.58 billion, a 0.7% decrease.

The company forecasts 2021 adjusted profit of between $9.40 and $9.60 per share.

J&J is expected to release data from its phase three trial testing its Covid-19 vaccine as early as this week.

U.S. officials and Wall Street analysts are eagerly anticipating the federal authorization of J&J’s vaccine, which could happen as early as next month. Unlike Pfizer’s and Moderna’s authorized vaccines, which require two doses given about three to four weeks apart, J&J’s requires only one dose. That means patients will not have to come back for another dose, simplifying logistics for health-care providers.