Company file · MRK
Merck
Keytruda brought in nearly half of Merck's sales in 2025
The cancer medicine made $31.6B, 49% of $65.0B in total sales. Gardasil sales fell 39.0%, and Merck posted a loss in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026.
Key facts
Merck (NYSE: MRK) reported sales of $65.0B for fiscal 2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025, up 1.3% from fiscal 2024. Net income to Merck was $18.3B, up 6.6%. In its latest 10-Q, for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, sales were $16.6B, up 5.1% from the same quarter a year earlier, and net income was −$1.3B. The largest piece by segment was Pharmaceutical, at 89% of fiscal 2025 sales. Sources: 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed Feb 24, 2026) and 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 (filed Aug 7, 2026).
Source: 10-K FY2025, filed Feb 24, 2026
Source: 10-Q filed Aug 7, 2026 · 10-Q filed May 4, 2026
How it makes money
By segment, FY2025
Source: 10-K FY2025, XBRL breakdown
Pharmaceutical was 89% of 2025 sales and Animal health 10%. Keytruda alone was 49%, up from 42% in 2023. About 56% of sales came from the United States.
Source: 10-K FY2025
Largest products, FY2025
Share is of FY2025 sales; the items listed don't cover all of it. The last column is the change from FY2024.
What changed last quarter
Comparing Q2 2026 (Apr to Jun 2026) compared with Q2 2025 (Apr to Jun 2025)
Each pair of bars shows the dollar amount for both quarters. Longer bar, more money. Bars in a group share one scale.
Q2 2026Q2 2025
Company
A hatched bar is a loss, drawn by its size. The % change isn't shown when either quarter is a loss.
Source: Merck 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 7, 2026
By segment
Source: Merck 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 7, 2026
The bull case and the bear case
The bull case
- Keytruda sales rose 7.3% in 2025 to $31.6B. 10-K, FY2025
- Winrevair sales rose 244.4% in 2025 to $1.4B, its second year on the market. 10-K, FY2025
- Animal health sales grew 8.1% in 2025 to $6.4B. 10-K, FY2025
- Sales in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 were $16.6B, up 5.1% on a year earlier. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
The bear case
- Net income in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 was −$1.3B, a loss, against $4.4B a year earlier. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
- Gardasil sales fell 39.0% in 2025 to $5.2B, and sales outside the US fell 10.6%. 10-K, FY2025
- Total debt was $53.9B at Jun 30, 2026, up from $49.3B at the end of 2025, while cash fell to $6.8B. 10-Q, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
- With so much of its sales from one medicine, the 10-K discusses the effect on sales when key patents expire and lower-priced competition arrives. 10-K, Item 1A
What optimists and skeptics tend to point to, each tied to a filing. Ticker Sage doesn't pick a side, and neither list is a reason to buy or sell.
What the company does
Merck & Co. develops and sells prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products; Keytruda, its cancer immunotherapy, is its largest product.
Merck reports two operating segments. Pharmaceutical covers human health medicines and vaccines, led by Keytruda for many types of cancer, the Gardasil HPV vaccines, the childhood vaccines ProQuad, M-M-R II and Varivax, and newer products such as Winrevair for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Animal Health sells vaccines and medicines for livestock and pets.
It sells mostly to drug wholesalers, retailers, hospitals, governments and health care providers. Its fiscal year is the calendar year.
Source: 10-K, Item 1 Business
Main risks the company lists
Our plain-English paraphrase of the risk factors in Merck's latest 10-K. Read the original for the full list.
- Patents and exclusivitySales of a product usually fall fast once patent protection ends; Keytruda is its largest product by far.
- PricingUS Medicare price negotiation, government pricing rules and payer pressure can cut prices.
- ResearchDrug development is costly and uncertain, and many candidates fail or are delayed.
- AcquisitionsBuying companies and licensing products can bring large charges, and the deals may not deliver the expected sales.
- Manufacturing and supplyProblems at plants or suppliers could interrupt supply of medicines and vaccines.
- InternationalSales outside the US are exposed to currency moves, local pricing and demand, including in China.
- Litigation and cyberProduct liability and patent lawsuits, and cyberattacks, are listed risks.
Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors (the full list, in the company's words)
Three years of key numbers
Every number links to its filing; hover for the XBRL tag. A dash means the number isn't cleanly available, and we don't estimate it.
| US$ | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | $60.1B | $64.2B | $65.0B |
| Net income to Merck | $365M | $17.1B | $18.3B |
| Operating cash flow | $13.0B | $21.5B | $16.5B |
| Cash & equivalents (year end) | $6.8B | $13.2B | $14.6B |
| Total debt (year end) | $35.1B | $37.1B | $49.3B |
| Diluted shares | 2.55B | 2.54B | 2.51B |
- Sales: Sales of prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products, plus some alliance revenue.
- Net income to Merck: Net income attributable to Merck, after the small share belonging to minority owners.
- Operating cash flow: Cash the business brought in from its day-to-day operations during the year (cash flow statement).
- Cash & equivalents: Cash and short-term investments that count as cash equivalents on the balance sheet. Excludes longer-dated marketable securities.
- Total debt: Loans payable and current portion of long-term debt plus long-term debt, at carrying value.
- Diluted shares: Weighted average shares outstanding for the year, including the effect of options and stock awards.
About these numbers
- The product chart shows only the largest medicines, so it doesn't cover all sales.
- Merck's net income in 2023 was unusually low because of a large charge for acquired research projects; that makes the three-year change in net income look extreme.
- Net income is the amount attributable to Merck shareholders.
- Total debt is short-term borrowings plus current and long-term debt at carrying value, as tagged in the filing.
Recent filings
Latest filings
- Oct 1312:36 PM ET
8-K
Merck files an 8-K on director or officer changes
Merck filed a Form 8-K on Oct 13, 2026 at 12:36 PM ET under Item 5.02 (Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers).
- Oct 11:52 PM ET
Form 4
Merck director Christine E. Seidman reports an award of about 56 phantom Stocks
The filing reports about 56 phantom Stocks in a grant or award (code A).
- Oct 11:50 PM ET
Form 4
Merck director Surendralal Lanca Karsanbhai reports an award of about 112 phantom Stocks
The filing reports about 112 phantom Stocks in a grant or award (code A).
- Oct 11:48 PM ET
Form 4
Merck director Mary Ellen Coe reports an award of about 206 phantom Stocks
The filing reports about 206 phantom Stocks in a grant or award (code A).
Common questions about Merck
How does Merck make money?
Merck's sales were $65.0B in fiscal 2025. Pharmaceutical was 89% of 2025 sales and Animal health 10%. Keytruda alone was 49%, up from 42% in 2023. About 56% of sales came from the United States. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Feb 24, 2026.
What was Merck's revenue in fiscal 2025?
$65.0B of sales for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025, up 1.3% from $64.2B in fiscal 2024. Fiscal 2023 was $60.1B. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Feb 24, 2026.
Is Merck profitable?
Merck reported net income to Merck of $18.3B for fiscal 2025, up 6.6% from $17.1B in fiscal 2024. That is a profit under US accounting rules (GAAP). In the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, net income was −$1.3B. The page's About these numbers section explains what is included. Source: 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Feb 24, 2026.
What did Merck report in its latest quarterly filing?
Sales were $16.6B in the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, up 5.1% from $15.8B a year earlier. Net income was −$1.3B, compared with $4.4B from $4.4B. Source: 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026, filed Aug 7, 2026.
How much cash and debt does Merck have?
Merck had $6.8B in cash and cash equivalents and $53.9B of total debt on Jun 30, 2026. Total debt here is loans payable and current portion of long-term debt plus long-term debt, at carrying value. Source: 10-Q filed Aug 7, 2026.
What are the main risks Merck lists?
Merck's 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Feb 24, 2026, lists its risk factors in Item 1A. We group them into 7 areas: Patents and exclusivity; pricing; research; acquisitions; manufacturing and supply; international; litigation and cyber. The first: Sales of a product usually fall fast once patent protection ends; Keytruda is its largest product by far. Source: 10-K, Item 1A Risk Factors.
Where do these Merck numbers come from?
From Merck's own SEC filings: the 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed Feb 24, 2026) and the 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 (filed Aug 7, 2026), read through the SEC's public XBRL data. Each number on this page links to its filing. Methodology explains how fiscal years and missing numbers are handled.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings in MRK
- The editor holds no position in Merck (MRK). As of Oct 25, 2026.
- Trading rule
- The editor does not buy or sell MRK from 3 days before to 3 days after this page is published or substantively updated.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- The company's SEC filings, linked next to each number or, for charts, in the source line under them.
- Last updated
- Oct 25, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold MRK, and it doesn't consider your situation.
Compare with peers
| Company | Fiscal year | Revenue | Revenue growth | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MerckMRK | FY2025 | $65.0B | +1.3% | $18.3B |
| Eli LillyLLY | FY2025 | $65.2B | +44.7% | $20.6B |
| Johnson & JohnsonJNJ | FY2025 | $94.2B | +6.0% | $26.8B |
| AbbVieABBV | FY2025 | $61.2B | +8.6% | $4.2B |
Each row is that company’s latest fiscal year from its own 10-K, using its own revenue and net income lines. Fiscal years end in different months, and line definitions differ (banks, insurers and oil companies count revenue differently), so this is a rough side-by-side, not a like-for-like comparison.
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New to filings? Learn lists the first explainer topics. Methodology & Disclosures covers where every number comes from.