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Tylenol-Maker Kenvue’s Stock Reacts to President Trump’s Autism Announcement
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Key Takeaways
- Kenvue's stock initially dropped but rebounded after President Trump's claim of a link between acetaminophen and autism.
- The FDA plans to update acetaminophen labels, noting potential risks but no established causal relationship with autism.
Investor reaction is showing how the industry is reacting to the President’s claims.
Kenvue's stock slightly rebounded after dropping following President Trump's autism announcement.
Stock.adobe.com
Investors may not be convinced about the danger of Tylenol.
Following President Trump’s announcement where he claimed that there is a connection between acetaminophen and autism, many were watching the impact on Tylenol-maker Kenvue’s stock price. During the announcement, the President regularly referred to Tylenol instead of acetaminophen, which sparked fears that the company’s value would be negatively impacted.
How did Kenvue's stock react to the announcement?
According to a report from Reuters,1 Kenvue’s shares dropped to a record-low following the President’s announcement. However, by Tuesday, the price had climbed 6%, regaining a portion of the lost value.
The price had dropped to about $16.96-a-share by early Tuesday, but had climbed to around $17.30-a-share by mid-afternoon.
In a statement obtained by the news outlet, Novare Capital Management vice president James Harlow explained, “Investors were holding their breath worried that yesterday's announcement would be a bombshell. It turned out it wasn't, as no new scientific evidence was presented linking Tylenol to autism.”
Harlow also said, “This issue only involves pregnant mothers which is a smaller subset of consumers––therefore the actual impact on Kenvue's financials was likely always going to be modest,"
Not surprisingly, Tylenol is responsible for $1 billion in annual sales for Kenvue, making it a key part of the company’s portfolio.
Rumors have circulated for several weeks about the administration’s plans to announce a link between Tylenol and autism. The pain medication is the only over-the-counter of its kind that is recommended during pregnancy, as other pain killers can cause complications. As such, it is commonly taken by pregnant women to treat pain and fevers, the latter of which can cause problems for the developing fetus.
The President’s remarks drew immediate backlash from members of the medical community. It’s also important to note that the President’s remarks slightly differed from FDA’s official announcement2 regarding the medication. Following the President’s address, the agency released a statement explaining its plans to issue a label change to acetaminophen-based product. The change would reflect the agency’s belief that there may be a connection between the medication and an increased risk of autism, along with other neurological conditions.
The statement also directly explained that while a correlation between the medication and the neurological disorders has been noted in some studies, no causal relationship has been established.
In the statement, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said, “The FDA is taking action to make parents and doctors aware of a considerable body of evidence about potential risks associated with acetaminophen. Even with this body of evidence, the choice still belongs with parents. The precautionary principle may lead many to avoid using acetaminophen during pregnancy, especially since most low-grade fevers don’t require treatment. It remains reasonable, however, for pregnant women to use acetaminophen in certain scenarios.”
It's still unclear as to what the full impact of the President’s statement will be. While he failed to provide any new or direct evidence of his claims, his words may still have a chilling effect on the use of the medication. While investors appear to somewhat optimistic regarding the company’s value, they still have some concerns.
Reuters reports that analysts from Citi wrote, “Overall, we see limited judicial risk following [Monday's] announcement, but there could be some impact on Tylenol consumption due to negative headlines.”
Autism, and what may or may not cause it, has been a hot-button issue with the current administration. HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy has made claims in the past about vaccines causing autism (although he would later deny holding this belief) and proclaimed earlier this year that he would use HHS’ resources to find the cause of autism by September of this year.3 The announcement sparked concern among the medical community who don’t see evidence that autism is caused by a single source.
Sources
- Tylenol-maker Kenvue shares bounce back, Trump claims face pushback. Reuters. September 23, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/tylenol-maker-kenvue-shares-bounce-trump-claims-face-pushback-2025-09-23/
- FDA Responds to Evidence of Possible Association Between Autism and Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy. FDA. September 22, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-responds-evidence-possible-association-between-autism-and-acetaminophen-use-during-pregnancy
- What we know about autism’s causes and any potential link to Tylenol. AP News. September 23, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/autism-trump-kennedy-tylenol-acetaminophen-7ebaf91e80b93f605899cefd66ac0eb2
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