All Entries Tagged With: "Healthcare stocks"

“Thank God we’ve got a healthcare business.”

No way that 3M CFO Patrick D. Campbell is the only conglomerate CFO to utter these words lately. This story “3M Leans On Healthcare Amid Downturn” from CNN/Money points out that 3M’s healthcare unit is projected to take in as much as 20% of the company’s operating profit in 2009. It’s generally seen that 3M’s reliance on consumables like surgical supplies will see steady demand even in an overall downturn.

Johnson & Johnson, another bulwark in the healthcare services sector, announced a 14% increase in fourth-quarter profits, but analysts project a somewhat weaker forecast in 2009 as growing unemployment forces consumers to cut back on doctor visits and elective surgery. [more]