Johnson & Johnson's Stock Drops After Earnings Beat But Sales Missed

Shares of Johnson & Johnson slumped 1.7% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the consumer products and healthcare company beat fourth-quarter profit expectations buy fell short on sales. Earnings rose to $3.81 billion, or $1.38 a share, from $3.22 billion, or $1.15 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.58, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.56. Revenue grew 1.7% to $18.11 billion from $17.81 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $18.26 billion. Healthcare and medical device sales were below the FactSet consensus, while consumer sales were above expectations. Separately, J&J said it was evaluating strategic options for its diabetes care companies, which include LifeScan Inc., Animas Corp. and Calibra Medical Inc. The options may include sales of the businesses, partnerships or joint ventures. The stock has rallied 18% over the past 12 months through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has run up 23%.