Merck’s Cancer Drug and Vaccine Sales Drive Better-Than-Expected Results

Merck (MRK) shares advanced in intraday trading Thursday after the pharmaceutical firm reported better-than-expected quarterly results, and raised and narrowed its guidance on strong sales of its blockbuster cancer-fighting treatments.

The company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07, with revenue up 8.9% to $15.78 billion. Both easily beat forecasts.

Sales of its popular cancer drug, Keytruda, gained 19.9% to $6.95 billion. Merck said that was driven by increased demand for use in earlier-stage indications and metastatic indications. It noted that the numbers would have been higher except for the negative impact of the devaluation of the Argentine peso.

Revenue from Gardasil, its vaccine to prevent cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), advanced 14.0% to $2.25 billion on rising sales in both China and by the U.S. public sector, along with higher prices.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Davis explained that Merck had “strong growth across key therapeutic areas, executed strategic business development, and in the U.S., we are now launching Winrevair,” which he called a significant new product to treat heart disease. 

The company sees full-year adjusted EPS of $8.53 to $8.65, versus its prior outlook of $8.44 to $8.59.  It anticipates sales in the range of $63.1 billion to $64.3 billion, compared with its earlier estimate of $62.7 billion to $64.2 billion.

Shares of Merck were up 1.8% to $129.27 as of 11:03 a.m. ET Thursday and have climbed more than 18% in 2024.