Merck & Co., Inc. Posts Lower Q3 Results; EPS Beats View; Revenue Misses (MRK)

Before Monday’s opening bell, Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) released its third quarter financial results and full year outlook. While EPS beat analysts’ estimates, Q3 revenue fell short of expectations.

MRK’s Earnings in Brief

Merck reported third quarter earnings of $895 million, or 31 cents per share, down from $1.1 billion, or 38 cents per share, a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings dropped from 92 cents to 90 cents per share, but beat analysts’ estimate of 88 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was $10.56 billion, down from $11.03 billion last year. On average, analysts expected to see revenue of $10.67 billion. Looking forward, MRK expects to see FY2014 GAAP earnings between $4.06 and $4.29 per share and non-GAAP earnings between $3.46 and $3.50 per share. Analysts expect to see Fy2014 earnings of  $3.47 per share. The company expects to see FY2014 revenue between $42.4 billion and $42.8 billion. Analysts expect to see $42.55 billion in revenue.

CEO Commentary

Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and CEO of Merck, commented: “Last October, we launched a multi-year initiative to transform Merck and build a platform for sustained, future growth. One year later, we delivered solid third-quarter results and are making steady progress in our transformation, including divesting non-core assets, reducing our expense base and investing in our promising new product launches and pipeline.”

MRK’s Dividend

Merck paid its last 44 cent dividend on October 7. We expect the company to declare its next dividend in November.

Stock Performance

Merck shares were up 39 cents, or 0.68%, during pre-market trading Monday. The stock is up 15.1% YTD.

MRK Dividend Snapshot

As of Market Close on October 24, 2014

Click here to see the complete history of MRK dividends.