Overview
- JNJ said Monday it will allocate over $1 billion to boost Acuvue contact lens manufacturing and build a major Jacksonville, Florida distribution center that the company expects to be fully operational by 2028.
- The Acuvue project is part of JNJ’s broader $55 billion U.S. manufacturing expansion launched in March 2025 and follows an earlier billion-dollar commitment for a Pennsylvania cell therapy plant.
- The capital shift responds to pressure on JNJ’s drug business after Stelara lost U.S. patent exclusivity in 2024 and faces biosimilars such as Amgen’s Wezlana.
- JNJ has also moved to strengthen growth areas this month by completing an about $1 billion acquisition of Firefly Bio for oncology, reporting a Q1 earnings beat with EPS of $2.70 and revenue of $24.06 billion, and raising its quarterly dividend to $1.34.
- The company says the expansion will increase domestic supply resilience and capacity for millions of contact lens users, and investors see modest upside with a Wall Street consensus of Moderate Buy and an average price target implying roughly 11% upside.