DARZALEX Hits $4B as Dual Launches ICOTYDE and INLEXZO Ignite New Growth Chapter (JNJ Q1 2026 Earnings Call)

6.4% Operational Growth Powered by 10 Double-Digit Brands

Johnson & Johnson reported Q1 worldwide sales of $24.1 billion, representing 6.4% operational growth despite a roughly 540 basis point headwind from STELARA biosimilar competition. Excluding STELARA, the company grew double digits for the quarter. Innovative Medicine delivered 7.4% operational growth, reaching $15.4 billion, while MedTech contributed $8.6 billion at 4.6% operational growth.

Adjusted diluted EPS came in at $2.70, a 2.5% decrease versus the prior year, as the company absorbed heavier upfront spending on new product launches concentrated in the first half of the year. CFO Joe Wolk noted that the pretax operating margin decline from 36.6% to 32.5% is consistent with the planned front-loading of investment, and that the company reaffirms its full-year commitment to expand adjusted pretax operating margins by at least 50 basis points.

Guidance Raised: $100B Revenue Midpoint and EPS Lifted $0.02

Management raised full-year operational sales guidance to 5.9%–6.9% growth, with a midpoint of $100.2 billion, marking J&J's first-ever target at the $100 billion revenue threshold. CFO Wolk also raised adjusted operational EPS guidance by $0.02 to a range of $11.30–$11.50, representing 5.7% growth at the midpoint.

Capital returns remain a priority. The Board authorized a 3.1% dividend increase to $5.36 per share annually, marking the company's 64th consecutive year of dividend growth. Wolk also reaffirmed a full-year free cash flow target of approximately $21 billion, noting that Q1's $1.5 billion result reflects expected timing of U.S. rebate program payments and increased capital expenditures tied to the company's $55 billion U.S.-based manufacturing and R&D investment commitment through early 2029.

DARZALEX Hits $4B Quarterly While ICOTYDE Draws 1,500 Prescriptions in Days

DARZALEX, J&J's multiple myeloma anchor, posted sales of $4 billion with 17.8% operational growth, driven by 5.9 points of share gain across all lines of therapy and nearly 12 points of frontline share gain. TREMFYA surged 63.8%, fueled by its IBD launch becoming the share leader in new patient starts for inflammatory bowel disease. CARVYKTI reached approximately $600 million at 57.4% growth.

The quarter's most significant catalyst arrived March 2026: FDA approval of ICOTYDE, the first and only targeted oral peptide blocking the IL-23 receptor for plaque psoriasis. EVP Jennifer Taubert stated that within days of launch, "1,500 patients already have prescriptions written and over 1,000 unique customers are writing." Taubert described ICOTYDE as the preferred first-line systemic therapy, designed to convert millions of patients cycling on topicals who resist biologic injections. John Reed added that 70%–80% of biologic-eligible autoimmune patients still are not taking one, underscoring the market expansion opportunity.

INLEXZO Insertions Jump 90% After J-Code Reimbursement Approval

In Q&A, analysts pressed on early INLEXZO momentum in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Taubert reported that in the first week after the permanent J-code reimbursement code took effect on April 1, new patient insertions rose over 50%, and in the second week climbed to nearly 90% above pre-J-code baseline. She noted that 1 in 5 eligible patients started an INLEXZO regimen during Q1, calling it the strongest launch performance for any product in the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer space.

CEO Joaquin Duato reinforced confidence in J&J's path to double-digit operational growth by end of decade, describing ICOTYDE, RYBREVANT in lung and head-and-neck cancer, and INLEXZO as three products the Street remains structurally underestimating. He was direct: "All these numbers do not include business development. This is based in the strong portfolio pipeline that we have today that is largely derisked."