Some Medtech companies recently addressed the potential impact of global tariffs in their Q1 2025 earnings calls. Johnson & Johnson and Abbott were among the first to speak on the implications of these tariffs and how their companies are mitigating against associated risks.
In Johnson & Johnson’s recent earnings call, CFO Joseph Wolk answered questions about the company’s estimated $400 million in tariff-related costs in 2025. Wolk clarified this estimate “is primarily MedTech tariffs at this point” and is “based on the programs that have been announced and the timing that correlates with those programs.” Wolk also explained the company’s “most substantial” tariff costs were likely to be from “the China tariffs as well as the China retaliatory tariff.” Johnson & Johnson’s Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato also addressed how tariffs can create supply chain disruptions, leading to product shortages. Duato explained that “[i]f what you want is to build manufacturing capacity in the US, both in medtech and pharmaceuticals, the most effective answer is no[t] tariffs but tax policy.” To build manufacturing capacity in the US, Duato explained that Johnson & Johnson is investing $55 billion over the next four years so that “essentially all our advanced medicines that are used in the US will be manufactured in the US.”
In Abbott Laboratories’ recent earnings call, Chairman and CEO Robert Ford estimated “the tariff impact in 2025 to be a few hundred million dollars.” Ford explained that Abbott is “well-positioned to implement mitigations to help manage the impact of the tariffs.” As one example, Ford described Abbott’s decades-long approach of mitigating risk “by spreading [our] manufacturing network out” and “manufacturing as close as possible to the customer [with] an appropriate amount of redundancy.”
