J&J says 2026 sales could top $100 billion

US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has said that after a "catapult year" in 2025, it is on course to report around $100 billion in sales this year for the first time.

The prediction came as J&J announced fourth-quarter revenues grew 9.1% to $24.6 billion, driven by a 10% rise in sales of innovative medicines and particularly cancer drugs, up nearly 25%, with Darzalex (daratumumab) for multiple myeloma leading the charge.

Chief executive Joaquin Duato said the company's goal is to become the largest oncology player with cancer drug sales of $50 billion or more by 2030. However, some of its cancer products, like multiple myeloma therapy Tecvayli (teclistamab) and CAR-T therapy Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), fell short of expectations despite posting solid growth.

The robust 2026 forecast comes despite J&J's recent drug pricing deal with the Trump administration, which will include the supply of some drugs at Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) prices to avert the threat of tariffs. As yet, the impact of that is hard to gauge, but it has been reported by Reuters to potentially be "hundreds of millions of dollars."

Despite comments by Duato that J&J is being "fuelled by the strongest portfolio and pipeline in our history," investors seemed largely unmoved, with shares in the company weakening after the presentation.

That is likely because the company is also still facing significant legal liabilities linked to claims its talc products caused cancer, as well as the looming expiration of patent protection for Darzalex around 2029.

J&J has defended the $14.3 billion Darzalex franchise with a new subcutaneous formulation (Darzalex Faspro), which has extended its patent protection, and it has been effective in switching patients from the older intravenous version.

J&J's fourth-quarter performance has come despite declining sales of its immunology blockbuster Stelara (ustekinumab), which fell 48% to $1.23 billion, having pulled in $10 billion in 2024.

Aside from oncology growth, J&J sees oral IL-23 antagonist icotrokinra as a key growth area, which Duato said should get its first approvals this year and, according to some analysts, could make in excess of $5 billion a year and possibly even approach $10 billion.

Duato said the drug – which has now been given the proposed trade name Icotide – "positions J&J to lead the next wave of treatment for psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease," and will expand the market for psoriasis therapies.

J&J is predicting 2026 revenues will be between $99.5 billion and $100.5 billion, up from just over $94 billion in 2025.