J&J tops 4Q earnings forecasts but misses on revenue

Johnson & Johnson edged past Wall Street's fourth quarter earnings expectations, helped by growing pharmaceutical sales, but revenue fell short.

The world’s biggest maker of health care products also debuted a strong 2022 forecast of per-share earnings between $10.40 and $10.60. That's better than the $10.35 Wall Street had been projecting, according to FactSet.

In the fourth quarter, New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson earned $4.73 billion, while sales grew 10% to $24.8 billion.

Adjusted earnings totaled $2.13 per share, or a penny better than expected. Wall Street had expected revenue of $25.28 billion

Shares of J&J, which is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, slipped before the opening bell Tuesday amid a broad retreat in U.S. markets.