Johnson & Johnson Q2 earnings exceed expectations: AI drug development accelerates MariTide, Hongli Medicine adds a new engine

On August 4, 2026, BioPharma giant Amgen released its second-quarter earnings report for fiscal year 2026. Data shows that the company's quarterly revenue reached $9.82 billion, a year-over-year increase of 9.1%, surpassing market expectations of $968 million. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was $5.20, exceeding analyst consensus by $0.15. Driven by strong performance, Amgen's stock rose approximately 2.5% after market close, and its market capitalization returned above $360 billion. This achievement is particularly noteworthy given the overall pressure on the US pharmaceutical sector, and provides new evidence for the "US Dividend Pharma" strategy. ## Earnings Highlights: Core Product Volume Increase, Full-Year Guidance Raised Amgen's growth this quarter was primarily driven by several core products. Notably, the global sales of the new drug for osteoporosis, Evenity, reached $1.43 billion, a year-over-year increase of 22%. Although the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel (Linazinep) faced challenges from biosimilars, its sales remained stable at $1.18 billion. Meanwhile, the obesity candidate drug MariTide, which has attracted market attention, has led the company to pre-invest in its commercialization pathway based on favorable clinical trial progress, resulting in a year-over-year increase in R&D expenses of $1.5 to $2.41 billion, without dragging down overall profitability. Based on the better-than-expected performance in the first half of the year, Amgen management raised its full-year revenue guidance from the previous $37.5 to $38.0 billion to $38.5 to $39.0 billion, and simultaneously raised the adjusted EPS guidance to $19.80-$20.10. The Chief Financial Officer stated that this increase reflects the strong momentum in its core product lines and the effective implementation of cost control measures. ## New Milestone in AI Drug Discovery: Computing Power Empowers Drug Discovery In this earnings report, Amgen disclosed for the first time the latest progress of its AI drug discovery platform in collaboration with NVIDIA. This platform utilizes NVIDIA H100 GPU clusters and proprietary molecule generation models to compress the optimization cycle for MariTide's candidate molecule from a traditional 18 months to 7 months, and increased its affinity for both GLP-1 and GIP targets by 40%. The head of Amgen's R&D department stated in a conference call: "AI does not replace scientists; rather, it allows scientists to explore larger dimensional spaces in a shorter time frame. We have embedded AI technology into multiple pipelines for antibody-like, small molecule, and RNA drugs, with an estimated reduction of 1.5 clinical trial development time per year." This statement has rapidly increased Wall Street's expectations regarding Amgen's "technology aspect" and explains the "productivity leverage" behind this quarter's earnings beat. ## Dividend Increased for Ten Consecutive Years, Solidifying Dividend Attributes As a traditional core stock in the "US Dividend Pharma" category, Amgen has also taken steady actions regarding shareholder returns. The company announced an increase in quarterly dividends to $2.50 per share (annualized to $10.00), a 5% increase year-over-year, marking the tenth consecutive year of dividend increases for Amgen. Based on the current stock price of $192, the dividend yield is approximately 3.2%, significantly higher than the 2.0% average for the S&P 500 healthcare sector. Please note that Anjin's operating cash flow reached $47.5 billion this quarter, with free cash flow of $42.1 billion, which is sufficient to cover dividend payments (approximately $500 million per quarter) and capital expenditures. The company has also launched a $5 billion stock repurchase plan, expected to be completed before the end of 2027. This combination of "dividend + buyback + future growth" is the core reason why funds favor pharmaceutical stocks in the dividend strategy. ## Industry Insight: Dividend Pharma Embraces a New Paradigm of "Technology + Dividend" Looking at the bigger picture, Anjin's earnings exceeding expectations and its deep integration with AI pharmaceuticals are not isolated cases. Previously, companies like Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and AbbVie have all announced collaborations with major computing power providers to accelerate drug discovery and clinical trial design. Traditionally, pharmaceutical stocks with high dividends are viewed as "defensive assets," but in the age of AI, these companies are transforming cash flow into technological barriers, thereby opening up a ceiling for long-term growth. This "high dividend + technology-driven" model aligns perfectly with the core strategy of the "US Dividend Pharma" classification. This classification focuses on companies that possess both stable dividend capacity and innovative pipelines, and Anjin is a typical example of this logic. Looking at the capital flow, since the second quarter, over $3 billion in net capital has flowed into the S&P 500 Healthcare Dividend ETF, with Anjin being one of the largest component stocks by weighting. However, investors must also note potential risks. The final approval and commercialization volume of Anjin's MariTide, as well as the erosion of market share by biosimilars against blockbuster products, remain uncertain. Furthermore, if the US Federal Reserve maintains higher interest rates for longer in 2026, it could compress profit margins for pharmaceutical companies with high debt, due to increased interest expenses. However, for the current earnings report, Anjin's performance is still sufficient to support its core position in the dividend pharmaceutical portfolio. ## Investment Strategy Reference: How to Position for Such "Dual Engine" Stocks? * **Monitor Pipeline Realization Pace:** AI acceleration does not equal improved success rates in R&D. Investors need to track Phase III data for key indications, such as the results for MariTide in cardiovascular benefits. * **Assess Free Cash Flow Coverage for Dividend Guarantee:** If the dividend payout ratio is below 60% and has increased for several consecutive years, the margin of safety is higher. Anjin's current payout ratio is about 45%, meeting the condition. * **Combine Valuation Rotation:** In a market driven by AI sentiment, pharmaceutical stocks that are relatively "underappreciated" may offer better buying points, but investors should wait for catalyst events, such as earnings reports or FDA approvals. Overall, Anjin's exceeding expectations in Q2 2026 makes the market realize that dividend pharma does not mean "lying flat and collecting dividends"; rather, it means achieving organic growth by leveraging advanced productivity tools like AI on a foundation of stable dividends. This may be a structural opportunity in the long-term bull market of US stocks, characterized by low valuation.