MRK

Global pharmaceutical company Merck (NYSE:MRK) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q3 2026, with sales up 4.7% year on year to $18.09 billion.

Merck came into this Q3 2026 earnings print with the stock already on a steady climb, up about 15% over the past three months.

Investors were still buying it in the afterglow of its latest quarterly earnings release.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $18.1 billion, up 5% from a year earlier, as growth in oncology, vaccines, cardiometabolic products and animal health helped offset product-specific and market headwinds.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) reported new Phase 3 data at ESMO 2026 showing KEYTRUDA monotherapy benefits in advanced endometrial cancer.

Generic headwinds ahead in 2027, but new launches and WINREVAIR growth signal momentum.

Merck’s new drugs are growing fast enough to cover generic losses, but part of this quarter’s sales gain won’t last. Here’s what to watch.

Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK, XETRA:6MK) shares rose 5.17% to $148.22 after the US drugmaker reported third-quarter revenue of $18.1 billion, beating the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and raised the midpoint of its full-year sales outlook.

Merck (NYSE:MRK) is the second big drugmaker to reward investors with an earnings beat and a raised profit outlook. However, Merck’s steady, Keytruda-anchored growth tells a very different story from the obesity-driven surge at Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY).

Merck's Q3 earnings and sales beat estimates as Keytruda and newer products drive growth, prompting the company to raise its 2026 earnings outlook.