Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) climbed more than 4% in premarket trading on Thursday after the company reported first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, supported by solid performance in oncology and animal health.
The drugmaker posted an adjusted loss per share of $1.28, beating the consensus estimate of a $1.48 loss. Revenue came in at $16.29 billion, above the $15.89 billion forecast and marking a 5% increase year-over-year, or 3% excluding foreign exchange effects, compared with $15.53 billion in the same quarter last year.
Both adjusted and GAAP results included a $3.62 per share charge related to the acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics.
Sales of KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX reached $8.03 billion, rising 12% from a year earlier, or 8% on a constant currency basis. Growth was driven by stronger global demand in metastatic treatments and continued expansion in earlier-stage indications.
WINREVAIR sales jumped 88% to $525 million, reflecting ongoing uptake in the U.S. and initial international launches. The Animal Health division also delivered strong results, with sales increasing 13% to $1.79 billion.
“We are moving with speed to transform our portfolio to one with a diversified set of growth drivers across a broad set of therapeutic areas,” said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer.
For full-year 2026, Merck raised and tightened its revenue outlook to a range of $65.8 billion to $67.0 billion, compared with the previous $65.5 billion to $67.0 billion.
The company also increased its adjusted EPS guidance to between $5.04 and $5.16, up from the prior range of $5.00 to $5.15. This outlook includes the $3.62 per share impact from the Cidara acquisition but excludes the planned acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, expected to close in May, which would result in an additional one-time charge of about $2.35 per share.
The midpoint of $5.10 for adjusted EPS reflects the company’s updated expectations for the year.