Johnson & Johnson Rises on Healthy Earnings

is up on Tuesday after posting successful first quarter earnings and revenue. The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based firm's EPS climbed five percent year-over-year to $1.44, topping estimates of $1.40. Revenue rose 8.5 percent to $17.51 billion, edging the Wall Street consensus of $17.44 billion.

Johnson & Johnson's US sales jumped over 11 percent to $8.03 billion, representing 46 percent of the healthcare product maker's total revenue. The company's medical devices & diagnostics and pharmaceutical segments generated double-digit growth on the home front, soaring 14.7 and 11.4 percent, respectively. Growth in the respective categories was driven primarily by a 61 percent rise in orthopedic sales and an 86 percent surge in sales of cancer drugs. Its consumer segment experienced growth, albeit much lower at 2.4 percent, led primarily by a 14.4 percent increase in sales of over-the-counter and nutritional items.

While the world's sixth-largest consumer health company's US sales reigned during the quarter, it also performed well abroad, with sales growing 6.3 percent. The medical devices & diagnostics segment took the lead in this regard, again led by a massive 58 percent surge in orthopedic sales. The segment gained over nine percent internationally. Pharmaceutical sales rose a healthy 6.1 percent, with immunizations driving the bulk of the growth. As was the case in the US, Johnson & Johnson's consumer segment finished last with revenue of just over two percent, with the oral care category rising most at 5.6 percent.

On March 29, Johnson & Johnson announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved INVOKANA™ for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. It is the first sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor to be approved in the US. In laymen's terms, while type 2 diabetes has been treated with pills for quite some time, this is the first of a new generation of treatments to gain FDA approval. Based on US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates, 23.4 to 24.7 million Americans have the disease. In other words, about one in every 13 Americans is a potential customer for this drug.

After dropping over one percent on Monday, Johnson & Johnson is on an upswing again on word of its successful first quarter. The stock is up around one percent on Tuesday.