Merck topped estimates and raised its profit forecast as cancer drug injection took off

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Adjusted profit forecast moves to $2.77 to $2.82 a share from $2.66 to $2.76 as Keytruda Qlex sales reach $830 million

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Merck $MRK raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Thursday as sales of its Keytruda cancer drug, including a newer injectable version, grew in the third quarter.

Merck expects 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.77 to $2.82 a share, up from a prior range of $2.66 to $2.76, the company said. The outlook now absorbs a one-off cost of $0.12 per share for a worldwide licensing deal with SciBrunch Therapeutics, which was not in the earlier forecast.

The company narrowed its full-year sales forecast to $66.8 billion to $67.3 billion from $66.3 billion to $67.3 billion, which raised the midpoint of the range.

Third-quarter sales rose 5% to $18.1 billion. Adjusted earnings were $2.49 a share, down from $2.58 a year earlier, and included the SciBrunch charge. Net income came to $5.07 billion, or $2.04 a share, versus $5.79 billion, or $2.32 a share, in the year-earlier period.

Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected adjusted earnings of $2.08 a share on revenue of $17.31 billion, according to CNBC. Merck's results exceeded both figures.

Keytruda sales rose 6% to $8.6 billion, including $830 million from Keytruda Qlex, a subcutaneous injection. Merck credited the growth to greater use of the drug against cancers caught at earlier stages, including triple-negative breast cancer, cervical cancer, head and neck cancer and bladder cancer.

Analysts expected $649 million in Qlex sales, according to CNBC. CNBC said the $830 million was the highest quarterly total since the product launched in 2025.

Winrevair, a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, brought in $694 million, up 93% from a year earlier. Animal health sales rose 4% to $1.7 billion.

"Our science-led strategy is transforming our business," Robert M. Davis, Merck's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. He pointed to cancer data presented at last weekend's European Society for Medical Oncology meeting.

Merck had cut its full-year profit forecast in August because of costs from buying Terns Pharmaceuticals and Cidara Therapeutics. Keytruda Qlex sales were $463 million in the second quarter. The current outlook still includes one-time charges of $9.0 billion for Cidara and $5.7 billion for Terns.

Keytruda is set to see its principal U.S. patent shield expire in 2028, according to The Wall Street Journal. Merck stock was up more than 4% on Thursday.

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