Updated from 3:12 p.m. EST
Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ Quote) shares closed to the downside Tuesday amid a weak forecast from the company and a down day overall for the U.S. stock market. The New Jersey-based drug and consumer-products giant predicted earnings for 2009 of $4.45 to $4.55 a share, which excludes the impact of certain items, but includes a reduction of 3 cents to 5 cents from the pending acquisition of Mentor (MNT Quote). On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are calling for $4.61. J&J's outlook came as the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.7 billion, or 97 cents a share. Before items, the company would have earned 94 cents, 2 cents better than expectations. In the same quarter last year, J&J had a profit of $2.4 billion, or 82 cents a share. Worldwide sales in the quarter fell 4.9% year over year to $15.2 billion, a decline that was primarily attributable to unfavorable exchange rates, and missed Wall Street's $15.9 billion consensus estimate. Sales rose 4.3% for the full year to $63.7 billion, and adjusted earnings were $4.55 a share. Shares of J&J closed down 69 cents, or 1.2%, to $56.75, after at one point being one of only four stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average that was up for the day, along with Merck (MRK Quote), AT&T (T Quote) and Verizon (VZ Quote). J&J peers Pfizer (PFE Quote) and Procter & Gamble (PG Quote) were slightly lower.- Loading Comments...
- Loading Comments...
Featured Photo Galleries
| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,270.47 | 1,093.48 | 2,167.88 | 34.29 |
Oil *
75.55
|
|
UP
73.00
|
UP
6.24
|
UP
18.86
|
DOWN
0.17
|
10 Yr
3.43%
SPDR Gold
109.74
|
|
+0.72%
|
+0.57%
|
+0.88%
|
-0.49%
|
Data delayed 20 minutes |














