Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Raytheon Technologies and General Electric all produce mixed results before open

After Monday's one-way rally, Tuesday may turn into a necessary slump after four major S&P 500 corporations all posted mixed earnings before the bell. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) beat on earnings but missed on revenue. 3M (MMM) missed Wall Street's earnings per share (EPS) prediction but beat the figure for revenue. Raytheon Technologies (RTX) issued a Q4 result that slightly beat on earnings but slightly missed on revenue. General Electric (GE) likewise beat earnings forecasts but missed consensus for projected sales.

Johnson & Johnson earnings

In the pharmaceutical, health and consumer good giant's fourth quarter, adjusted EPS arrived at $2.35, beating Wall Street's forecast by 11 cents. Revenues of $23.7 billion, however, missed their mark by $200 million. The revenue miss for Johnson & Johnson was the product of lower covid-related sales as well as foreign currency headwinds brought on by a strong US Dollar. Sales actually decined more than 4% YoY due to these combined issues.

Johnson & Johnson stock rose just under 1% in Tuesday's premarket, however, because the full-year outlook for 2023 impressed the market. Management predicts that 2023 EPS will hit $10.55 at the midpoint of its range rather than the $10.33 predicted by Wall Street analysts.

3M earnings

3M's Q4 earnings were the polar opposite of Johnson & Johnson. The industrial manufacturing conglomerate missed the adjusted EPS consensus by 11 cents at $2.28. Revenue, on the other hand, scraped by at $8.1 billion, which was just $10 million ahead of analysts.

The outlook is what mostly hurt 3M though. Management said they expected adjusted EPS for the full year of 2023 to come in between $8.50 and $9 despite consensus at $10.23. 3M blamed the underwhelming forecast on China's covid disruptions and a sudden drop in consumer spending. Additionally, 3M said it would cut about 2,500 manufacturing jobs worldwide in order to deal with the expected poor economic condictions in 2023. MMM stock fell more than 5% in the premarket. 

Raytheon Technologies earnings

Raytheon reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.27, which was 2 cents ahead of expectations. Revenue, however, came in $70 million below consensus at $18.09 billion. The 2023 outlook shared by CEO Greg Hayes was largely at the lower end of consensus given by analysts, but Hayes insisted that Raytheon would produce significant margin expansion and undertake a $3 billion share buyback program to boost the share price.

General Electric earnings

Rounding out the series of major corporations reporting early Tuesday was General Electric. The storied corporation, in the midst of splitting into three separate companies, reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.24 – 8 cents ahead of Wall Street consensus. Revenue of $21.8 billion missed consensus by $310 million though. That revenue figure rose more than 7% YoY, and total orders were up 15% over the same period.

The outlook for the full year was less than stellar however. Management said adjusted EPS would arrive between $1.60 and $2 despite Wall Street's forecast of $2.44. GE stock still managed to rise 1.7% on the news that revenue expectations are still bright for the year.