BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Big Pharma Giant Beats Earnings, Projects $100 Billion in Annual Sales Following Price Increases to Start 2026

This week, Johnson & Johnson reported third quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, generating $16.76 billion in quarterly pharmaceutical sales. The Big Pharma giant also raised its full-year sales forecast to more than $101 billion, continuing a years-long pattern of strong financial performance fueled by ongoing anti-competitive behavior and egregious pricing practices.

Johnson & Johnson has consistently surpassed earnings estimates in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, while raising the price of brand name products and gaming the system to extend exclusivity on blockbuster products. So far in 2026, the Big Pharma giant has hiked prices on 32 prescription drugs, including a five percent increase on its blockbuster psoriasis drug, Stelara.

Get a full recap of Johnson & Johnson’s latest earnings here:

Johnson & Johnson

• Johnson & Johnson reported third quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
• The company’s psoriasis drug, Tremfya, brought in $2.4 billion in sales, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year forecast to $101.2 billion, up from $101.1 billion previously.
• The Big Pharma company’s pharmaceutical segment saw $16.76 billion in sales in the third quarter.

Johnson & Johnson’s strong third quarter earnings come as the company continues its ongoing pattern of egregious price hikes across its portfolio of top-selling blockbuster drugs.

Johnson & Johnson

• Johnson & Johnson has hiked prices on 32 prescription drugs so far in 2026, including a five percent increase on psoriasis drug Stelara.
• Johnson & Johnson hiked prices on 30 prescription drugs in 2025, including a 5.5 percent increase on multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex and a 4.7 percent increase on psoriasis drug Stelara. 
• The company implemented 34 price hikes in 2024, including a 4.8 percent increase on multiple myeloma drug Darzalex, and five percent increases on prostate cancer treatment Erleada and psoriasis drug 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 33 price hikes in 2023, including a 4.5 percent increase on multiple myeloma treatment Darzalex, a five percent increase on prostate cancer drug Erleada and a 4 percent increase on psoriasis treatment Stelara.
• Spending on the company’s blockbuster blood cancer treatment 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 third 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.