Tylenol maker rebounds a day after unfounded claims about its safety
By Michelle Chapman
Extra Strength Tylenol is shown in Carmel, Ind., Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue bounced back sharply at the opening bell Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism.
“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump instructed pregnant women around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug, known by the generic name acetaminophen in the U.S. or paracetamol in most other countries.
Shares of the New Jersey consumer brands company tumbled 7.5% Monday. At the open of trading, shares bounced back by more than 6%.
The announcement, which appeared to rely on existing studies rather than significant new research, arrives as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, advances the Make America Healthy Again movement that has focused on what it sees as potential causes of autism.
Kenvue disputed any link between the drug and autism this week and warned that if pregnant mothers don’t use Tylenol when in need, they could face a dangerous choice between suffering fevers or using riskier alternatives.
Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical and medical device divisions in 2023 because it was thought that the companies could function more efficiently if they were independent from each other. Aside from Tylenol, the consumer health company makes Band-Aids, Listerine and other household brand names.
Citi Investment Research analyst Filippo Falorni wrote that he sees a limited risk of new lawsuits after Trump’s announcement, but thinks “there could be risk to Tylenol consumption given the negative headlines.”
Falorni anticipates a positive reaction for Kenvue’s stock at the opening bell on Tuesday given the lack of new scientific evidence.
The company has fought hundreds of lawsuits related to the product and its alleged ties to autism, but most have been dismissed.
Tylenol made headlines in the 1980s when seven people in the Chicago area were killed after taking the over-the-counter painkiller laced with cyanide. The incident triggered a nationwide panic and led to an overhaul in the safety of over-the-counter medication packaging. No one was ever charged in the deaths.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
