Johnson & Johnson CFO Joseph Wolk, at the Bernstein investor conference last week, tempered the company's expectation that it would suffer a $400 million tariff impact this year.
Wolk gave the update after the U.S. and China reached a temporary agreement to pause escalating tariff rates between the two countries for 90 days.
Weeks before the pause, J&J had predicted on an April’s earnings call that it would incur tariff-related costs of about $400 million this year, primarily affecting its medtech business.
But Wolk, at the Bernstein conference, suggested the forecasted tariff hit could change in the future.
“Just based on the retaliatory China tariffs that we had in our $400 million assessment, that probably cuts the $400 million down to $200 million,” Wolk said, responding to a question about the shifting tariffs landscape. That does not include any impact that could result from the Trump administration’s Section 232 investigations, he said. The Trump administration has launched special investigations into the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries that could lead to tariffs.
In addition, Wolk noted, tariffs between the U.S. and Europe remain in flux.
J&J will provide its “best and latest estimate in a transparent way” when it reports second-quarter earnings on July 16, the CFO said. “It’s a moving target,” he added.
“Johnson & Johnson has not changed its 2025 guidance that it provided during the Company's Q1 2025 earnings call on [April 15, 2025,] which included the $400 million allocated for the potential impact of tariffs,” a J&J spokesperson told MedTech Dive in an email.
The U.S. on May 12 paused the 34% tariff on imports from China that President Donald Trump announced on April 2 and removed further duties that raised the combined tariff burden on goods from China to at least 145%. China also paused its matching 34% tariff on U.S. goods and rescinded all other levies enacted since April 2. Both countries are instead charging 10% baseline duties.
On Monday, China accused the U.S. of undermining the May 12 agreement, after Trump on Friday said Beijing was violating the plan.
J&J CEO Joaquin Duato, speaking at the Bernstein conference, said the company was "particularly confident” about its ability to meet its earnings-per-share guidance of about 5% to 7% growth from 2025 to 2030.
In its medtech business, J&J already has a dual-source manufacturing footprint that allows the company to work with two separate supply chains, Duato noted.
Boston Scientific, which also presented at the Bernstein conference, plans to update its $200 million tariff impact forecast to reflect changes since it provided the outlook, CEO Mike Mahoney told investors last week.
