Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is having quite a moment. The healthcare giant's stock has climbed almost 42.9% year-to-date, approximately 35% over six months, and 8.6% in just the past month. That's the kind of performance that makes investors wonder what's fueling the rally.
The answer? A combination of strong quarterly results, strategic deals, and regulatory wins that suggest the pharmaceutical and medtech behemoth is firing on all cylinders.
Breaking Up to Build Value
During its most recent quarterly earnings report, Johnson & Johnson unveiled plans to separate its orthopedics business to sharpen strategic focus. The spinoff would create a standalone company operating under the DePuy Synthes name, with completion expected within 18 to 24 months.
It's a familiar playbook for J&J, which previously spun off its consumer health division (now Kenvue). The idea is that focused businesses can move faster and create more value than sprawling conglomerates.
The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.80 per share, up 15.7% year over year and topping the consensus estimate of $2.75. Sales hit $23.99 billion, up 6.8% from the prior year and beating expectations of $23.74 billion. Operational growth came in at 5.4%, with adjusted operational growth at 4.4%.
Interestingly, management downplayed the likelihood of blockbuster acquisitions going forward, emphasizing that smaller deals are more probable. The company made clear it doesn't need major mergers to hit the high end of its long-term growth targets, viewing smaller transactions as smarter value-creating opportunities.
The Halda Deal
Speaking of acquisitions, last week Johnson & Johnson agreed to acquire Halda Therapeutics OpCo, Inc. for $3.05 billion in cash. Halda is a clinical-stage biotech with a proprietary platform called Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimera, designed to develop oral, targeted therapies for solid tumors including prostate cancer.
It's exactly the type of strategic, focused deal management talked about—adding promising pipeline candidates without the complexity of mega-mergers.
FDA Wins and Pipeline Updates
The company has also been racking up regulatory wins. Johnson & Johnson shared new Phase 3b APEX study data showing that Tremfya (guselkumab) continued reducing signs and symptoms of active psoriatic arthritis while inhibiting structural damage progression at 48 weeks.
At Week 24, Tremfya demonstrated two and a half times greater ability to inhibit joint structural damage versus placebo, with consistent results whether patients received treatment every four weeks or every eight weeks. The inhibition of structural joint damage was sustained through Week 48.
Earlier in November, the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj) for a type of blood cancer, enabling earlier intervention in myeloma progression.
Not everything went according to plan, though. Most recently, the company announced that its Phase 2b AuTonomy proof-of-concept study of posdinemab failed to achieve statistical significance in slowing clinical decline in patients with early Alzheimer's disease. It's a reminder that drug development remains a high-risk business, even for industry giants.
What's Next
JNJ shares were up 0.28% at $207.24 at the time of publication on Wednesday, trading near the stock's 52-week high of $207.72. The combination of strong earnings momentum, strategic portfolio moves, and pipeline progress has clearly caught investors' attention.
Whether the rally has more room to run depends on execution—completing the orthopedics spinoff smoothly, integrating Halda successfully, and continuing to deliver clinical wins. But for now, Johnson & Johnson is showing why it remains one of healthcare's most formidable players.