The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst
: Good. So Chris, maybe I'll jump in here. And as we look back on 2020 and move into 2021, the COVID pandemic clearly remains front and center
for everybody, especially when we're looking at medical device performance. So on the one hand, the trough we saw in second quarter was less
severe than what we thought yet still very dramatic. And we saw a much faster-than-expected recovery in third quarter as Johnson & Johnson and
the whole industry benefited from deferred procedure capture.
But on the other hand, we look across the world, and we see rising case volumes. And we see localized deferral of procedures and lockdowns in
Europe and other places. So I know you haven't preannounced your fourth quarter results. We'll get to that in a week or 2. But maybe you could
just help us understand what kind of impact you've seen across your businesses into the end of 2020 as COVID has kept moving higher.
Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst
: So Alex or Joe, Johnson & Johnson over the past few years hasn't been shy about acquiring companies or divesting companies. And you're flushed
with cash now. You have a lot of great products you've acquired over the years through M&A across all 3 businesses. And it's been a key part of
your strategy. So as you sit here today, looking out at valuations where they are, what's your current view of the M&A landscape? And how does
that differ across the 3 different businesses?
Question: Robert Justin Marcus - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst
: So we've talked about this in past few years, but one of the ways we've seen some medtech peers, particularly Johnson & Johnson, to create value
is by either divesting lower-growth assets or bringing in higher-growth adjacencies, something you've done a good job at both. In the recent years,
we've seen more of the former versus the latter where you exited the advanced sterilization products and diabetes. And you've shown a willingness
to add to the portfolio through acquisitions like Auris, which is clearly a high-growth area. So as we look forward to 2021 and beyond, how should
we be thinking about the inorganic strategy for medtech? I know you touched on this a bit forward, but I just wanted to get more of a medtech
look given how many assets are available out there?
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