With many believing the United States is heading into a recession, investors will be looking at so-called “recession-proof” stocks like pharma giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to see how they are holding up in the current economic downturn.
Both companies, which are widely considered safe haven investments during recessions being key players in the consumer staples sector, are set to report their latest financial results next week.
J&J will report its fiscal first quarter 2023 results on Tuesday, April 18 before the market opens and some analysts believe the company can kick off the new financial year with an earnings beat.
Analysts at Trefis expect J&J to report revenue and earnings slightly above the consensus estimate, with the rise in revenue led by continued market share gains for some of its drugs, such as Darzalex, helping offset the decline in Remicade sales due to biosimilar competition.
Forex headwinds are also likely to have weighed on overall sales growth, they noted.
Trefis’ analysts forecast earnings per share of $2.53 on revenue of $23.7 billion, above the consensus expectation of earnings per share of $2.51 on revenue of $23.6 billion. In the year-ago quarter, J&J posted earnings per share of $2.67 on revenue of $23.4 billion in 1Q 2022.
P&G is reporting its fiscal 3Q 2023 results before the market opens on Friday, April 21, and the Street is also not expecting to see impressive year-over-year growth from the company.
Analysts expect earnings of $1.32 per share on revenue of $19.27 billion for 3Q, in line with P&G’s performance in the year-ago quarter of earnings per share of $1.33 on revenue of $19.4 billion.
The company warned when reporting its fiscal 2Q 2023 results earnings in January that continued significant cost headwinds from commodity and materials costs and foreign exchange impacts would drag on its fiscal 2023 performance.
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