Merck raised its 2026 sales forecast to up to $67.3 billion, citing strong Q2 demand for new drugs like Winrevair, which saw sales grow 75%. Despite beating revenue estimates with $16.61 billion, the company cut its profit guidance due to multi-billion dollar charges from its acquisitions of Terns Pharmaceuticals and Cidara Therapeutics. Sales of its blockbuster drug Keytruda grew 5% to $8.37 billion.
Second-quarter financial results
- ▪Merck posted a net loss of $1.34 billion, or 54 cents per share, for the second quarter, compared to a net income of $4.43 billion a year earlier
- ▪The company's Q2 revenue of $16.61 billion surpassed Wall Street expectations of $16.36 billion
- ▪Excluding certain costs, Merck's adjusted loss for Q2 was 13 cents per share, beating analyst expectations of a 27-cent loss
- ▪Merck reported second-quarter revenue of $16.61 billion, a 5% increase from the year-earlier period
2026 outlook revision
- ▪Merck raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $66.3 billion to $67.3 billion
- ▪Merck lowered its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to between $2.66 and $2.76 per share, down from a previous range of $5.04 to $5.16
- ▪The company's previous 2026 revenue guidance was between $65.8 billion and $67 billion
Biotech acquisition charges
- ▪The profit outlook also includes a $9 billion charge related to the January acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics
- ▪Merck is pursuing acquisitions to counter expected revenue loss from generic competition for drugs like Keytruda, which goes off-patent in 2028
- ▪The reduced profit outlook includes a one-time charge of $5.7 billion related to the acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals
Keytruda performance
- ▪A new injectable version of Keytruda accounted for $463 million of the drug's second-quarter sales
- ▪Sales of the immunotherapy drug Keytruda reached $8.37 billion in the second quarter, a 5% year-over-year increase
Newer drug portfolio growth
- ▪Sales of Winrevair, a treatment for a rare lung condition, grew 75% to $588 million in the second quarter
- ▪Merck's pneumococcal vaccine, Capvaxive, generated $184 million in sales for the quarter, a 42% increase from the prior year
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