Johnson & Johnson crushed earnings expectations and raised its guidance for the year
The pharmaceutical giant posted revenues of $18.5 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year, and more than analysts' median forecast for $18 billion according to Bloomberg.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.74 ($1.68 expected.)
"We saw notable strength in our Pharmaceuticals business due to the continued success of new products, and also achieved significant clinical milestones, advancing our robust pipeline," said CEO Alex Gorsky in the earnings statement.
The company raised its sales guidance for the full year to $72.2 billion from $71.5 billion. It boosted its EPS expectation to $6.63 - $6.73 per share.
Global pharmaceutical sales rose 8.9% to $8.7 billion, driven by new products like Imbruvica, a lymph node cancer treatment, and Invokana, which treats type 2 diabetes.
Johnson & Johnson shares rose as much as 3% in premarket trading.