Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.24%) made headlines today after reporting a 37% increase in earnings in its Q4 numbers, but looking beyond the headlines shows a more nuanced picture. Taking into consideration the $800 million impairment charge the company was forced to take at this time last year because of its defective hip replacements, its adjusted earnings per share came out to $1.24, versus $1.19 last year. However, with revenue also up 4.5%, the company was still able to beat estimates on both the top and bottom line.
In this video, however, Motley Fool health-care analyst David Williamson tells investors that the real story he sees here is the company's low 2014 guidance, which may have been the cause of the high selling volume the stock experienced today. David breaks the company down for investors by department, and shows why he thinks this low guidance could be sandbagging on JNJ's part.
