Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) CFO Caruso Is 'Very Happy With Results' He Tells CNBC

Johnson& Johnson (JNJ) reported better than anticipated earnings Tuesday morning before the opening bell, CFO Dominic Caruso joined CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss the report.
By Giovanni Bruno ,


NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - Get Reportreported its second quarter earnings Tuesday morning and the results were better than anticipated. The company's adjusted earnings per share exceeded expectations coming in at $1.74, above the the forecast of $1.68. 

The company posted revenue of $18.5 billion, up 3.9% year-on-year, also better than what most analysts predicted, which was around $18 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

Johnson & Johnson CFO Dominic Caruso joined CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning to discuss the report and the company's mission moving forward.

Caruso, first was asked to relay clarity on what exactly Johnson & Johnson is in the business of, be it healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices or consumer products.

"We're all three of those things and our businesses are performing well. Overall we're broadly based in human health care and we think that's the right way to approach an ever-evolving health care environment," Caruso explained, saying that second quarter results are strong across all three businesses.

Caruso plans to accelerate the company's growth by "Continuing momentum in pharmaceuticals, gaining share and consumer, making good choices to enter areas to expand market leadership (the acquisition of Vogue), and our medical device businesses is improving."

Johnson & Johnson raised its earnings per share and sales guidance for the year due to growth in profitability and the company's second quarter success.

Speaking to the success of the pharmaceutical sector of the business and the company's most successful prescription drug, Caruso relayed continued innovation and expansion.

"A big part of our business is a strong pharmaceutical business where we continue to launch new products, build robust pipelines, and we're proud of the growth. They are progressing well across the market, gaining share, and improving profitability," Caruso noted.

The most successful prescription drug the company currently boasts is Remicade, an autoimmune disease drug, which Caruso says is a fantastic product.

Remicade's patent is up in 2018, however Caruso relayed confidence and a sense of calm that the he does not anticipate any early launch of a biosimilar product.

Overall, "We're very happy with the results this quarter and we're off to a great start for the next six months," Caruso added.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson are higher 1.50% to $124.99 on Tuesday morning. 

Separately, TheStreet Ratings rates Johnson &Johnson as a "Buy" with a ratings score of "A." This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that TheStreet Ratings rates.

The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and expanding profit margins. TheStreet Ratings feels its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow. 

TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. 

You can view the full analysis from the report here: JNJ

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