The latest earnings season has begun, and the latest quarterly results from some of our economy's largest companies are starting to come in.
Tuesday morning, it was healthcare mainstay Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ 0.47%) turn in the spotlight, and investors weren't all that satisfied with the performance. In the wake of the company's first-quarter earnings report, the stock traded down by over 2%. That was a steeper fall than the 0.2% decline of the S&P 500 index on the day.
A mixed first quarter for the company
In its first quarter, Johnson & Johnson earned $21.38 billion in sales, which was more than 2% higher on a year-over-year basis. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income also edged higher, rising by nearly 4% to $6.58 billion, or $2.71 per share.
That meant a mixed quarter for the healthcare giant, as it narrowly missed the $21.40 billion consensus-analyst estimate for sales but edged past the $2.64 average projection for per-share adjusted net income.
In Johnson & Johnson's investor presentation on its performance, the company quoted CEO Joaquin Duato as saying that it "reflects our sharpened focus and the progress in our portfolio and pipeline."
Guidance narrowed
Johnson & Johnson narrowed its full-year guidance slightly; the lowered top end of the range likely also contributed to the stock's sell-off. The company is now forecasting total sales of $88 billion to $88.4 billion; previously, it was guiding for $87.8 billion to $88.6 billion. The adjusted-earnings estimate also got a tweak. The new range is $10.57 to $10.72 per share; before, the range was $10.55 to $10.75.
