Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA Announces Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Highlights Key Regulatory and Clinical Milestones Across Broad, Diverse Pipeline

Merck posted second-quarter worldwide sales of $16.6 billion, marking a 5% increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to the company’s financial results announced by Merck. The U.S. drugmaker outperformed analyst expectations, which had projected quarterly revenue of $16.36 billion according to Reuters. The revenue beat was propelled largely by the continued commercial momentum of its flagship cancer immunotherapy.

Keytruda Sales Reach $8.37 Billion Alongside Strong QLEX Uptake

Sales of Keytruda rose 5% to $8.37 billion during the quarter.

That total includes $463 million from Keytruda QLEX, the newer subcutaneous formulation of the therapy. Chief Financial Officer Caroline Litchfield noted in an interview that adoption of the subcutaneous version has exceeded initial projections covered by Reuters.

“We’re at double-digit of QLEX as a portion of the total business in the United States, and we are very much on a path that takes us to the 30% to 40% adoption by the end of 2027,”

Caroline Litchfield, Chief Financial Officer, via Reuters

Looking ahead to the drug’s eventual patent expiration, Chief Executive Officer Rob Davis told analysts that the loss-of-exclusivity period starting in 2028 will represent more of a hill than a cliff, characterized by a shallow dip followed by a rapid return to growth as detailed in market reporting.

Terns Acquisition Charges Drive Quarterly Per-Share Loss

Despite top-line sales growth, Merck reported a net loss for the quarter under both Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and non-GAAP metrics. GAAP loss per share stood at $0.54, while non-GAAP loss per share was $0.13 according to the company’s financial tables.

The losses were directly attributable to a charge stemming from Merck’s acquisition of cancer drug developer Terns Pharmaceuticals, which resulted in a charge of $2.31 per share reported by Reuters. Wall Street had anticipated a larger adjusted loss of 27 cents per share, helping push company shares up 0.6% to $128.54 in early trading following the announcement Reuters.

Vaccines and Animal Health Outperform Estimates

Beyond oncology, Merck’s diversified portfolio delivered solid contributions across veterinary medicine and immunizations. Gardasil, the company’s HPV vaccine, generated $1.17 billion in sales, edging past the $1.15 billion analyst consensus noted by Reuters due to higher demand and favorable tender timing in Europe and the Asia Pacific region noted in company disclosures.

Conversely, sales for measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox vaccines dropped 3% to $592 million, falling short of the $608 million anticipated by analysts according to market summaries.

Meanwhile, animal health sales rose 8% to $1.78 billion, beating Wall Street projections of $1.75 billion reported by Reuters.

Raised Full-Year Guidance and Pipeline Milestones

The company adjusted its full-year non-GAAP earnings guidance to a range of $2.66 to $2.76 per share to account for the transaction and financing costs associated with the Terns acquisition and related pipeline development according to regulatory filings.

Separately, Merck announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share for the fourth quarter of 2026, payable on October 7, 2026, to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2026 noted in an investor communication.