J&J Continues Signaling Aggressive M&A Approach To Drive Growth

As it works toward a spinout of its consumer health care business and seeks to become a $60bn a year pharmaceutical company by 2025, Johnson & Johnson continues to point to a strong capacity for M&A as a driver of its strategy. During the diversified health care giant’s Q1 2022 earnings call on 19 April, chief financial officer Joseph Wolk said J&J will stick with its historical tendency toward small and mid-sized deals, with major acquisitions being an outlier.

J&J’s annual cash flow has increased to around $20bn from closer to $17bn just a few years previously, the exec said. During the company’s Q4 earnings call on 25 January, new CEO Joaquin Duato – who did not speak on the Q1 call – noted that J&J is moving toward a cash-positive position. (Also see "J&J, Flush With Cash, Has Flexibility To Be ‘Bolder’ On M&A, CEO Duato Says" - Scrip, 25 January, 2022