---
title: "Johnson & Johnson beats on adjusted profit, but reported earnings fall to 9 cents"
url: "https://etf.net/news/johnson-johnson-beats-on-adjusted-profit-but-reported-earnings-fall-to-9-cents-2026-10-13"
published_at: "2026-10-13T12:19:46.589Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-13T12:19:46.589Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Johnson & Johnson beats on adjusted profit, but reported earnings fall to 9 cents

On Tuesday the company said the 9 cents reflect a special charge for a proposed talc resolution and deals with Firefly Bio and Sail Biomedicines.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 13, 2026.

Johnson & Johnson's reported earnings fell to **9 cents** a share on Tuesday, from $2.12 a year earlier. The company said the result reflects a one-time special charge for a proposed talc resolution, the acquisition of Firefly Bio and a collaboration with Sail Biomedicines.

In premarket trading the shares were indicated at $257.59, down **2.3%** from Monday's close of $263.73, as of 7:44 a.m. Eastern. Through that close the share price had risen 27% in 2026.

Adjusted earnings of $2.59 a share were 5 cents above the $2.54 that analysts polled by the London Stock Exchange Group had expected, and down 7.5% from $2.80 a year earlier.

Sales rose 5.9% from a year earlier, to $25.4 billion, ahead of the $25.28 billion those analysts had expected.

## The full-year forecast

J&J raised its full-year adjusted-earnings forecast to $11.05 to $11.15 a share. The midpoint of $11.10 is 6 cents above the forecast set on July 29.

That July 29 forecast was already a cut. Two weeks after the outlook it had set on July 15, the company said the Firefly acquisition and the Sail collaboration would reduce 2026 adjusted earnings by about 64 cents a share. Tuesday's 6-cent increase does not offset that cut.

Firefly Bio is a biotechnology company working on technology for hard-to-treat cancers. Sail Biomedicines is the partner on a collaboration the company described as an immune reset for autoimmune disease.

The sales range is now $101.0 billion to $101.4 billion. Only the bottom moved, from $100.8 billion. The top was already $101.4 billion.

## Drugs and devices

Innovative Medicine sales were $16.8 billion, up 7.7% from a year earlier. The company pointed to Tremfya, Darzalex and Carvykti, among other medicines.

MedTech reported sales were $8.6 billion, up 2.5%. On the company's operational measure, which leaves out currency translation, sales rose 4.8% in the United States and 0.1% outside the United States. The company named electrophysiology products, contact lenses and trauma products as growth drivers, along with Shockwave, a device business it has owned since 2024 that breaks up calcium in arteries.

Joseph Wolk, executive vice president and chief financial officer, told Reuters that the conflict in the Middle East had hurt sales in the region and had not yet affected the company's costs. Austerity measures in Europe and pricing in China were still weighing on international results, he said.

"These are countries that still value and actually want premium healthcare systems, think Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia," he said. "They pride themselves on having solid healthcare, very good healthcare. But their budgets now are being resourced and allocated towards defense."

## Litigation and the July commitment

To get from reported profit to the adjusted figure, the largest item the company listed was **$5.52 billion** before tax, or $4.29 billion after tax. It labeled that item litigation-related. Adjusted earnings exclude that item. The company said the $2.59 still includes the Firefly and Sail deals.

The $5.5 billion from July is a payment commitment, not that litigation-related line. On July 27 J&J said it had an agreement with the law firms leading the federal case and related state cases, if firms representing at least 95% of the 76,000 claims still in court sign on. Those claims allege that its talc products caused ovarian cancer. The commitment calls for a first payment of no more than $3 billion in 2027, and no further payments before 2028.

Joaquin Duato, chairman and chief executive, and Wolk are scheduled to take investor questions at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Tuesday's release still called the resolution proposed.

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