Merck posts better-than-expected second-quarter results on Keytruda strength

Merck raised its **2026 revenue forecast** to **$66.3 billion to $67.3 billion**, from a previous range of **$65.8 billion to $67.0 billion**. The midpoint is slightly above the LSEG consensus forecast of about **$66.8 billion**. The company now expects **2026 adjusted earnings of $2.66 to $2.76 per share**, including charges related to its acquisitions of Cidara Therapeutics and Terns Pharmaceuticals. Sales of immunotherapy **Keytruda**, the world's top-selling prescription medicine, rose **5% to $8.37 billion** in the quarter, including **$463 million** from its newer subcutaneous formulation, Keytruda QLEX. That exceeded analysts' estimates of **$8.07 billion**. Stronger-than-expected QLEX uptake contributed to the Keytruda beat, Chief Financial Officer Caroline Litchfield said in an interview. > "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," she said. Gardasil, Merck's cancer-preventing HPV vaccine, generated sales of **$1.17 billion**, slightly above the **$1.15 billion** analyst consensus. Sales of its measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccines fell **3% to $592 million** in the quarter, below analysts' estimates of **$608 million**. The company said the decline was due primarily to lower U.S. demand. > "The data that we access suggest that the overall vaccines market in the United States has declined," Litchfield said, adding that the mix of vaccines the company makes is faring quite well within that declining market. Animal health sales rose **8% to $1.78 billion**, slightly ahead of Wall Street projections of **$1.75 billion**. Merck reported higher-than-expected second-quarter sales on Tuesday and raised its full-year revenue forecast on the strength of its top-selling cancer treatment Keytruda. The U.S. drugmaker reported quarterly revenue of **$16.61 billion**, up 5% from a year earlier and above analysts' average estimate of **$16.36 billion**, according to LSEG data. Merck reported a loss for the quarter due to a **$5.7 billion** charge from its acquisition of cancer drug developer Terns Pharmaceuticals. The company's reported loss in the quarter was **13 cents per share**, including the **$2.31 per share** charge from the deal. Analysts had expected an adjusted loss per share of **27 cents**.

Merck posts better-than-expected second-quarter results on Keytruda strength

Full-year outlook raised

Keytruda sales drive the beat

Other product lines were mixed

Second-quarter results beat estimates

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