Johnson & Johnson: Updated Guidance Following Kenvue Divestment Consistent With Our Expectations

Following the successful split-off of Johnson & Johnson’s consumer division, Kenvue, J&J provided updated 2023 guidance for the remaining J&J business largely in line with our expectations. We don’t expect any changes to the firm’s fair value estimate or wide moat rating based on the updated outlook. The 2023 earnings outlook for the remaining J&J business fell as expected due to the divested consumer business. However, the reduced share count from the Kenvue split-off combined with $13 billion in proceeds from the debt offering and partial initial public offering of Kenvue as well as the 9.5% remaining stake of Kenvue still held by J&J largely offset the lost Kenvue earnings from a valuation perspective.