MRK Earnings: Merck & Co Q2 adj. profit drops on lower sales

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) on Tuesday reported lower sales and adjusted earnings for the second quarter of 2025. The company also announced the acquisition of Verona Pharma plc.

Second-quarter sales were $15.8 billion, compared to $16.1 billion in the prior year quarter. Pharmaceutical sales declined by 2% while Animal Health sales grew by 11%.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.13 per share for the second quarter, compared to $2.28 per share in Q2 2024. Reported net income was $4.43 billion or $1.76 per share in the June quarter, compared to $5.46 billion or $2.14 per share in the same period of last year.

Robert Davis, chief executive officer of Merck, said, “Today, we announced a multiyear optimization initiative that will redirect investment and resources from more mature areas of our business to our burgeoning array of new growth drivers, further enable the transformation of our portfolio, and drive our next chapter of productive, innovation-driven growth.”

Recently, Merck announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Verona Pharma plc for about $10 billion, under its science-led business development strategy. Verona is a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.

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