Merck Q3 2026: EPS tops expectations and full-year guidance rises
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 29, 2026.
Merck topped expectations on both lines and lifted its full-year non-GAAP EPS range to $2.77 to $2.82, a signal patent cliffs are not yet biting the bottom line. Winrevair growth is offsetting Bridion's collapse to U.S. generics.
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Merck's third-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $2.49 beat the consensus estimate, its sixth straight quarter topping Wall Street EPS expectations. Revenue also cleared estimates, so the consistency is hard to dismiss as a fluke.
Winrevair, the pulmonary arterial hypertension drug, grew sales 93% year over year on strong U.S. demand and new launches in Europe and Japan. That growth offsets steep patent-cliff declines at Bridion, Januvia and Janumet. Merck has a credible answer to part of the erosion.
The Keytruda franchise, still Merck's largest product by far, brought in a combined $8.60 billion, with earlier-stage cancer indications keeping it growing even as intravenous volumes softened. The FDA also granted priority review to a BLA for sac-TMT in previously treated endometrial cancer, with a PDUFA date of June 15, 2027, adding a new revenue line to watch.
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CEO Robert M. Davis pointed to ESMO data, including the first Phase 3 validation of a therapeutic cancer vaccine developed with Moderna, intismeran autogene, which reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 42% versus Keytruda alone in resected Stage IIB-IV melanoma. That speaks to Merck's ability to sustain growth beyond the current product cycle.
Merck raised its full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance range to $2.77 to $2.82 and narrowed full-year sales guidance. The raise absorbs a $0.12 per share charge tied to a new global license with SciBrunch, so the underlying operating improvement is larger than the headline range suggests.
Mentioned: MRK