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So listen to this – the big cheese over at J&J, we’re talking about Johnson and Johnson, has been waving a big red flag about the US possibly slapping tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry. Stuff could go M.I.A.—like your left sock after doing laundry. Shortages, I’m telling ya.
Now, the pharma industry dodged the bullet on those mad tariffs that got thrown around recently. But hold up, the Trump squad threw some side-eye, suggesting they might hit pharma with tariffs to give domestic manufacturing a juicy boost. Probably thinking along the lines of “let’s make America synthesize again?”
Pharma’s been chillin’ tariff-free since the 1994 WTO deal (yeah, those were the days!). But Joaquin Duato, the top dog at J&J, chirped on a call with some pencil-pushers, saying: “Why do we play the no-tariff game? ’Cause tariffs kick the supply chain in the teeth, man, and then what? We’re all outta meds.”
Look, medical gadgets like J&J’s surgical ‘bots? Yeah, all tangled up in this US tariff mess already.
Duato’s got this wild idea: Want to beef up US manufacturing in med tech and pharma? Tariffs ain’t the magic beans, folks. Try tax policies. Way more effective, like putting cheese on fries.
Here’s a kicker: J&J’s tossing $55 billion at new plants Stateside over the next four years. That’s upping their game by a quarter compared to before. Like, whoa.
Meanwhile, some red tape drama – the US admin just kicked off a thing looking into whether over-relying on imported meds is like shooting national security in the foot. They launched this April 1 (no joke) and they’re sniffing around for about 21 days.
Our dude Duato says it’s all about teaming up with Uncle Sam’s crew to patch up the sketchy bits in the healthcare supply chain. Sounds smart, right?
And then Joe Wolk, J&J’s money wizard, says they want to be all humble pie with the powers that be, which honestly sounds like a wise PR move.
Pharma peeps aren’t throwing hissy fits about tariffs, though. Trying to play it cool to maybe work things out on the sly. But Duato piped up after Michel Demaré at AstraZeneca waved a flag of his own, saying tariffs could mess with patients and jack up health equity. No one wants that.
Still, J&J kept their cool, sticking to their earnings game plan — $10.50-$10.70 per share for the year, even with $400 mil taking a hike thanks to device tariffs. Gotta respect that.
First-quarter sales numbers? Stackin’ up at $21.9 billion. That’s a 2.4% glow-up from last year’s same run. Analysts thought they’d see $21.6 bil though, so boom, exceeded!
And there you have it. Messy, important, real-world, keepin’ it human.
