July 29 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson cut 2026 profit forecast on Wednesday, citing the combined financial impact of its newly completed acquisition of Firefly Bio and a strategic partnership with Sail Biomedicines.
The healthcare giant expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $10.96 to $11.11, compared with its previous forecast of $11.60 to $11.75. Its shares were down 1.6% in extended trading.
The two transactions are expected to reduce the company’s 2026 adjusted earnings by about $0.64 per share, with the Firefly acquisition contributing $0.46 and the Sail Biomedicines agreement $0.18.
The Sail Biomedicines partnership includes an option to acquire the biotech for $2.58 billion and focuses on developing next-generation autoimmune disease therapies.
Under the agreement, J&J will make an initial payment of $785 million, including a $465 million equity investment in Sail. Sail could also receive up to $140 million in additional payments if it hits certain development milestones.
The partnership focuses on in-vivo CAR-T therapies, which are designed to reprogram immune cells directly inside a patient’s body, without the need of extracting them.
The maker of drugs and medical devices, however, kept its annual revenue expectations intact at $100.8 billion to $101.4 billion.
J&J also said the Sail and Firefly deals were expected to impact 2027 adjusted earnings by $1.36 per share, comprising $0.08 from Firefly and $1.28 from Sail, contingent on the achievement of specified development milestones and the exercise of its contractual options.
The forecast cut comes days after the company agreed to pay an estimated $5.5 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc-based products caused ovarian cancer, a deal that could bring an end to a decade-long legal battle that has weighed on its reputation.
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
