Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Risk Analysis

The Company's extensive operations and business activity throughout the world are accompanied by certain financial, economic, legal, social and political risks, including those listed below. Foreign currency exchange: In fiscal 2024, approximately 43% of the Company's sales occurred outside of the U.S., with approximately 23% in Europe, 5% in the Western Hemisphere, excluding the U.S., and 15% in the Asia-Pacific and Africa region. Changes in non-U.S. currencies relative to the U.S. dollar impact the Company's revenues and expenses. While the Company uses financial instruments to mitigate the impact of fluctuations in currency exchange rates on its cash flows, unhedged exposures continue to be subject to currency fluctuations. In addition, the weakening or strengthening of the U.S. dollar may result in significant favorable or unfavorable translation effects when the operating results of the Company's non-U.S. business activity are translated into U.S. dollars. Inflation and currency devaluation risks: The Company faces challenges in maintaining profitability of operations in economies experiencing high inflation rates. Specifically, the Company has accounted for operations in Argentina, Turkey, Venezuela and Egypt (beginning in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024) as highly inflationary, as the prior three-year cumulative inflation rate surpassed 100%. While the Company strives to maintain profit margins in these areas through cost reduction programs, productivity improvements and periodic price increases, it might experience operating losses as a result of continued inflation. In addition, the impact of currency devaluations in countries experiencing high inflation rates or significant currency exchange fluctuations could negatively impact the Company's operating results. Illegal importation of pharmaceutical products: The illegal importation of pharmaceutical products from countries where government price controls or other market dynamics result in lower prices may adversely affect the Company's sales and profitability in the U.S. and other countries in which the Company operates. With the exception of limited quantities of prescription drugs for personal use, foreign imports of pharmaceutical products are illegal under current U.S. law. However, the volume of illegal imports continues to rise as the ability of patients and other customers to obtain the lower-priced imports has grown significantly. Anti-bribery and other regulations: The Company is subject to various federal and foreign laws that govern its international business practices with respect to payments to government officials. Those laws include the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which prohibits U.S. publicly traded companies from promising, offering, or giving anything of value to foreign officials with the corrupt intent of influencing the foreign official for the purpose of helping the Company obtain or retain business or gain any improper advantage. The Company's business is heavily regulated and therefore involves significant interaction with foreign officials. Also, in many countries outside the U.S., the healthcare providers who prescribe human pharmaceuticals are employed by the government and the purchasers of human pharmaceuticals are government entities; therefore, the Company's interactions with these prescribers and purchasers are subject to regulation under the FCPA. In addition to the U.S. application and enforcement of the FCPA, various jurisdictions in which the Company operates have laws and regulations, including the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, aimed at preventing and penalizing corrupt and anticompetitive behavior. Enforcement activities under these laws could subject the Company to additional administrative and legal proceedings and actions, which could include claims for civil penalties, criminal sanctions, and administrative remedies, including exclusion from healthcare programs. Other financial, economic, legal, social and political risks. Other risks inherent in conducting business globally include: - local and regional economic environments and policies in the markets that we serve, including interest rates, monetary policy, inflation, economic growth, recession, commodity prices, and currency controls or other limitations on the ability to expatriate cash;- protective economic policies taken by governments, such as trade protection measures, increased antitrust reporting requirements and enforcement activity, and import/export licensing requirements;- compliance with local regulations and laws including, in some countries, regulatory requirements restricting the Company's ability to manufacture or sell its products in the relevant market;- diminished protection of intellectual property and contractual rights in certain jurisdictions;- potential nationalization or expropriation of the Company's foreign assets;- political or social upheavals, economic instability, repression, or human rights issues; and - geopolitical events, including natural disasters, disruptions to markets due to war, armed conflict, terrorism, epidemics or pandemics.

The Company's manufacturing of products requires the timely delivery of sufficient amounts of complex, high-quality components and materials. The Company's subsidiaries operate 64 manufacturing facilities as well as sourcing from thousands of suppliers around the world. The Company has in the past, and may in the future, face unanticipated interruptions and delays in manufacturing through its internal or external supply chain. Manufacturing disruptions can occur for many reasons including regulatory action, production quality deviations or safety issues, labor disputes, labor shortages, site-specific incidents (such as fires), natural disasters such as hurricanes and other severe weather events, raw material shortages, lack of available inspectors, political unrest, terrorist attacks and epidemics or pandemics. Such delays and difficulties in manufacturing can result in product shortages, declines in sales and reputational impact as well as significant remediation and related costs associated with addressing the shortage.