- MRK stock sold off more than 10% during Tuesday's session.
- Merck reported Q4 sales and profit that beat Wall Street consensus.
- 2025 guidance was at least ~$2 billion below consensus.
- Shipments of Gardasil to China and a milestone payment on LM-299 are culprits.
Merck (MRK) stock sank like a stone on Tuesday after the pharmaceutical giant posted poor guidance for the rest of the year. Shares of the New Jersey-based maker of oncology best-seller Keytruda fell over 10% mid-session despite the company posting beats on the top and bottom lines in the fourth quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which holds Merck as a constituent, rose after a morning pullback. China responded to the Trump administration’s 10% tariff on its imports with its own smaller tariff package on US coal and other goods. China also opened an antitrust case into Alphabet (GOOGL), the timing of which is viewed as part and parcel of the trade war, in addition to reopening a prior case on Nvidia.
Merck earnings news: Q4 beats, but 2025 guidance hurts
Merck management provided shareholders with 2025 guidance for between $64.1 billion and $65.6 billion in full-year sales. This range was noticeably below the Wall Street consensus for roughly $67.4 billion.
Likewise, guidance for earnings per share (EPS) of $8.88 to $9.03 missed the $9.21 consensus by a significant margin.
In its own earnings release on Tuesday morning, fellow pharma giant Pfizer (PFE) also gave guidance that slightly underperformed market expectations. Most pharma stocks have been in retreat since Donald Trump selected vaccine and pharma sceptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as his top health nominee.
But Merck’s fourth-quarter was quite successful. It reported adjusted EPS of $1.72, which was $0.04 ahead of consensus. Revenue of $15.62 billion was more than $100 million above the average projection.
Management partially blamed a one-time charge of about $0.09 per share related to a milestone payment to partner LaNova. The latter Chinese company is the developer of LM-299, a bispecific antibody used to treat cancer progression, which Merck markets globally.
Another factor in the reduced profit outlook is that Merck is pausing sales of its HPV vaccine Gardasil to China through the middle of the year.
Merck earnings news
Merck stock has moved back to the early October lows of last fall. MRK stock did recover somewhat toward the end of Tuesday's session, but shares are now trending well below moving averages.
The real support appears to stem from the middle of 2022 when the $83 to $85 zone saw a lot of volume. Buyers will likely wait until MRK descends to this level before picking up shares.
MRK weekly stock chart
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.
If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.
FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.
The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD holds lower ground near 1.0450, awaits German ZEW survey
EUR/USD holds lower ground near 1.0450 in the European morning on Tuesday. This downside could be attributed to the renewed have demand for the US Dollar amid a risk-off market mood and US rising Treasury bond yields. The focus is on German ZEW and US-Russia talks.

GBP/USD holds above1.2600 after UK labor market data
GBP/USD struggles to attract buyers but holds above 1.2600 in the European session on Tuesday. The data from the UK showed that the ILO Unemployment Change remained unchanged at 4.4% in the three months to December, coming in better than the market expectation of 4.5%.

Gold price struggles to capitalize on intraday gains amid modest USD strength
Gold attracts buyers for the second straight day amid concerns about a global trade war. Bets that the Fed would cut rates further lend support to the non-yielding yellow metal. Rebounding US bond yields and a modest USD uptick do little to cap XAU/USD.

Storj bulls aiming for double-digit gains
Storj, an open-source platform that leverages the blockchain to provide end-to-end encrypted cloud storage services, continues to trade higher by 4.4%, around $0.39 on Tuesday after rallying 5% the previous day.

Rates down under
Today all Australian eyes were on the Reserve Bank of Australia, and rates were cut as expected. RBA Michele Bullock said higher interest rates had been working as expected, slowing economic activity and curbing inflation, but warned that Tuesday’s first rate cut since 2020 was not the start of a series of reductions.

The Best Brokers of the Year
SPONSORED Explore top-quality choices worldwide and locally. Compare key features like spreads, leverage, and platforms. Find the right broker for your needs, whether trading CFDs, Forex pairs like EUR/USD, or commodities like Gold.