- Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) cut its 2020 adjusted profit forecast since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak is causing uncertainty across global markets.
Today Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) cut its 2020 adjusted profit forecast since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak is causing uncertainty across global markets.
Now Johnson & Johnson is expecting the adjusted earnings per share in 2020 to be $7.50 to $7.90 — down from previous estimates of $8.95 to $9.10. The company also cut its profit expectations by about 15%.
Johnson & Johnson is the first major U.S. pharmaceutical company to report earnings since the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s net earnings increased to $5.80 billion ($2.17 per share) in the first quarter. This is up from $3.75 billion ($1.39 per share) a year earlier.
Johnson & Johnson is now expecting the 2020 revenue to be $77.5 billion to $80.5 billion. This is down from its forecast from January of $85.4 billion to $86.2 billion.
Even though the company is taking a hit, it raised the quarterly stock dividend for its 58th consecutive year from 95 cents to $1.01 per share.
Coronavirus Vaccine
Johnson & Johnson is aggressively working on developing a vaccine for the new coronavirus.
CEO Alex Gorsky said that the company is committed to beginning production and bringing “an affordable and accessible vaccine to the public on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use.”
The goal is to have a single-dose vaccine candidate available for broad use early in 2021. Plus it is also testing two backup vaccine candidates.
Over the past decade, Johnson & Johnson has developed effective vaccines against HIV, Ebola, and Zika. By the first half of next year, Johnson & Johnson is expected to have 600 million to 800 million doses available.
