The Quarter in Brief
Johnson & Johnson reported its third quarter of 2026 before the market opened on October 13. Sales were $25.40 billion, up 5.9% from a year earlier, or 6.0% with exchange rates taken out. Reported earnings per share were $0.09, against $2.12 a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share, the company's measure that leaves out the amortization of acquired intangible assets and what it calls special items, were $2.59, down 7.5% from $2.80.
Both headline figures were ahead of expectations: analysts had expected about $25.38 billion of sales and adjusted earnings of about $2.52 a share, according to Financial Modeling Prep's consensus. What made the quarter different was a $5.52 billion pre-tax charge for litigation, which the company ties to its proposed resolution of the ovarian talc lawsuits. It took net profit down to $210 million from $5.15 billion.