Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians, wholesalers, government entities, veterinarians, distributors, animal producers, farmers, and pet owners. It has development and commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo's deruxtecan ADC candidates, which include patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan, and raludotatug deruxtecan for the treatment of multiple solid tumors both as monotherapy and/or in combination with other treatments; and AstraZeneca PLC to co-development and co-commercialize AstraZeneca's Lynparza products for multiple cancer types, and Koselugo for multiple indications. The company also has a collaboration agreement with Eisai Co., Ltd., Bayer AG, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, as well Moderna, Inc. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey.

Merck & Company, Inc.

Bristol Myers Squibb Company BMY has been performing well recently. Shares of this biotech giant have gained 13.1% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 15.2%.
While BMY stock has underperformed the industry in this timeframe, it has outperformed the sector and the S&P 500 during this period.
BMY Outperforms Sector and S&P 500 Index
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
This uptrend has been prominent after the company posted better-than-expected results for the third quarter on Oct. 30, buoyed by higher demand for Opdivo, Breyanzi, Reblozyl and Camzyos. Concurrently, BMY raised its revenue guidance to reflect this performance.
The recent rally has helped BMY regain its lost territories, giving anxious investors a ray of hope.
Let us analyze BMY’s fundamentals in such a scenario to help make a prudent investment choice:
BMY’s Growth Portfolio Maintains Momentum
BMY’s Growth Portfolio comprises drugs like Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig, Orencia, Yervoy, Reblozyl, Camzyos, Breyanzi, Opdualag, Zeposia, Abecma, Sotyku, Krazati and Cobenfy.
The recent performance of this portfolio has been strong, maintaining top-line growth for BMY.
Opdivo sales in the United States are being driven by a strong launch in MSI-high colorectal cancer and continued growth in first-line non-small cell lung cancer, while international sales are supported by label expansion of the drug across multiple markets.
The approval of Opdivo Qvantig (nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy) injection for subcutaneous use has boosted BMY’s immuno-oncology portfolio. The initial uptake has been strong and the launch is going well in the United States across all indicated tumor types.
Bristol Myers now expects global Opdivo sales, together with Qvantig, to increase in the high single-digit to low double-digit range in 2025 (previous guidance: mid to high single-digit range in 2025), driven by strong performance year to date.
The stellar performance of the thalassemia drug Reblozyl, for which BMY has a collaboration agreement with Merck MRK, has significantly boosted BMY’s top line. BMY is now annualizing over $2 billion in Reblozyl sales. Revenue growth continues to be strong, primarily due to demand in first-line RS-positive and RS-negative settings as well as improved duration of therapy.
Breyanzi sales are now annualizing over $1 billion, reflecting strong growth in large B-cell lymphoma and expansion in new indications approved last year.
Cardiovascular drug Camzyos sales continue to increase on robust demand.
The FDA approval for xanomeline and trospium chloride (formerly KarXT), an oral medication for the treatment of schizophrenia, in adults (under the brand name Cobenfy) is a sginficant boost for the company.
Cobenfy represents the first new pharmacological approach to treating schizophrenia in decades. The initial uptake is encouraging, with sales of $105 million year to date. Cobenfy is expected to contribute meaningfully to BMY’s top line in the coming years as the company looks to expand the drug’s label into other indications.
These drugs should maintain top-line momentum in the coming quarters.
BMY’s Legacy Portfolio Faces Generic Competition
While BMY is progressing with its growth portfolio, its legacy portfolio is being adversely impacted due to continued generic impact on Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane.
The decline in sales of legacy drugs has adversely impacted the top line. BMY continues to expect the legacy portfolio to decline approximately 15-17% in 2025.
Legacy portfolio also comprises blood thinner medicine Eliquis, for which BMY has a worldwide co-development and co-commercialization agreement with pharma giant Pfizer PFE. Eliquis is the biggest contributor to the top line.
BMY’s Recent Collaborations Bode Well
BMY recently announced that it will acquire privately held biotechnology company Orbital Therapeutics for $1.5 billion in cash.
The acquisition will add OTX-201, Orbital’s lead RNA immunotherapy preclinical candidate currently in IND-enabling studies, to BMY’s pipeline. OTX-201, a next-generation CAR T-cell therapy, is designed to reprogram cells in vivo with a potential best-in-class profile for autoimmune disease. BMY will also add Orbital’s proprietary RNA platform to its pipeline.
The company had earlier collaborated with BioNTech for the global co-development and co-commercialization of BioNTech’s investigational bispecific antibody BNT327 across numerous solid tumor types.
Developing bispecific antibodies that target two proteins, namely PD-1 and VEGF, has lately been one of the lucrative areas in cancer treatment. BNT327, a next-generation bispecific antibody candidate, targets PD-L1 and VEGF-A.
BMY’s Valuation and Estimate Revision
Going by the price/earnings ratio, BMY is inexpensive as of now. Shares currently trade at 8.78x forward earnings, higher than its mean of 8.40x but lower than the large-cap pharma industry’s 16.99x.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS has moved north to $6.51 from $6.43 in the past 60 days, while that for 2026 has moved south.
BMY’s Estimate Movement
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stay Invested in BMY Stock
BMY is one of the largest biotechs and such large biotech companies are generally considered safe havens for investors interested in this sector. BMY’s performance has been strong in 2025 as drugs like Opdivo, Reblozyl, Breyanzi and Camzyos have stabilized its revenue base amid generic competition for its legacy drugs.
Approval of additional new drugs and label expansion of top drugs should further diversify its pipeline.
However, generic competition is a major headwind for the company as of now and the new drugs will take some time to offset this steep decline. Hence, we recommend prospective investors to wait and watch for the time being.
For investors already owning the stock, staying invested would be a prudent move. The company’s attractive dividend yield (4.73%) is a strong reason for existing investors to stay invested.
BMY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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BMY Gains 13.1% in Three Months: Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Key Points
Each of these exchange-traded funds offers dividend payments.
The dividend yields vary greatly, though, as do the average annual returns.
You might do well to invest in several of the funds instead of just one.
So you've got $2,000 to invest -- or perhaps $20,000 or more. Where should you invest it? I'd like to suggest some dividend-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) -- funds that trade like stocks. Each is invested in a range of dividend-paying stocks.
It's hard to beat dividend-paying stocks because healthy and growing ones offer three ways to profit:
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Their stock price will likely appreciate over time
They will deliver income via dividends.
Their dividends will likely increase over time.
Why dividends?
If you're not yet sold on the idea of dividends, check out the table below:
Dividend-Paying Status
Average Annual Total Return, 1973-2024
Dividend growers and initiators
10.24%
Dividend payers
9.20%
No change in dividend policy
6.75%
Dividend non-payers
4.31%
Dividend shrinkers and eliminators
(0.89%)
Equal-weighted S&P 500 index
7.65%
Clearly, dividend payers can be powerful contributors to your portfolio's growth.
Seven attractive dividend ETFs
There are more than a few solid income-producing ETFs out there. You'll find seven of them below -- including a simple S&P 500 index fund and an ETF focused on preferred stocks, which tend to feature high dividends but little stock-price appreciation.
ETF
Recent Yield
5-Year Avg. Annual Return
10-Year Avg. Annual Return
15-Year Avg. Annual Return
iShares Preferred & Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ: PFF)
6.63%
1.71%
3.53%
4.39%
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: SPYD)
4.46%
9.96%
9.01%
N/A
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHD)
3.74%
8.56%
11.46%
N/A
Fidelity High Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT: FDVV)
3.02%
16.03%
N/A
N/A
iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: DGRO)
1.98%
11.72%
13.03%
N/A
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG)
1.59%
11.70%
13.10%
12.36%
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO)
1.12%
14.91%
14.76%
14.17%
Here are a few words about some of these funds:
The iShares Preferred & Income Securities ETF
While most dividend-focused ETFs are invested in shares of regular, common stock, this ETF is invested in preferred stock. Preferred stock tends to feature fixed dividends as opposed to dividends that grow every year or so, but its payouts tend to be fairly generous.
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF is one of my favorite dividend-focused ETFs. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 index, which holds about 100 stocks with track records of paying dividends for at least 10 years -- and which also tend to be tied to high-quality companies. It offers a great mix of both a very respectable dividend yield and a solid performance record -- and it has increased its payout for many years. Top holdings recently were Merck, Cisco Systems, and Amgen.
The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF
The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF is another standout dividend ETF, tracking the S&P U.S. Growers index, which is focused on companies that have increased their dividend for at least 10 consecutive years. It also excludes stocks with very steep yields, as a high yield can be due to a depressed stock price and a struggling company. It recently held about 338 different stocks, with top holdings including Broadcom, Microsoft, and Apple.
I also included the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF in the group because, while it's not technically dividend-focused, it does pay a dividend, as many of its 500 components are dividend payers. You can get much more income via other ETFs, but this one might serve you well, too, offering the chance of greater share-price appreciation. Remember, though, that it's a bit top-heavy with tech stocks, and they may fall harder if and when there's a market pullback.
So consider any or all of these income-producing ETFs, and consider spreading your dollars across several of them.
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Selena Maranjian has positions in Amgen, Apple, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amgen, Apple, Cisco Systems, Merck, Microsoft, Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

7 Dividend ETFs to Buy With $2,000 and Hold Forever -- Including the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD)

Key Points
Shares of Teva -- a generic-drug maker with a history of losses and high leverage -- have rallied strongly.
Pfizer and Merck, which make branded drugs, are financially strong and are rebuilding their drug pipelines.
Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE: TEVA) rallied after it reported earnings on Nov. 5. The stock is now higher by a whopping 45% in roughly a month. The company reported strong results, and it appears that the business is well positioned.
However, after such a large price advance, you may be better off looking at two still-struggling makers of branded drugs instead. Here's why.
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Teva Pharmaceutical has moved very far, very fast
Teva's big business is selling generic drugs. Essentially, it's the competition for makers of branded drugs once their patented medications lose patent protection. Teva and its peers are what cause the patent cliffs that branded-drug companies are constantly trying to manage around.
It's not a bad business to be in, and Teva is a leader in the industry. In addition to its generic drugs, the company has been developing its own branded products. It has also been focusing on more-complex-to-produce generics as a means of differentiating itself from its generic peers. When it reported third-quarter earnings, Teva beat Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines of its income statement.
The stock's 45% rally following the earnings release shows that investors are excited about Teva's future. However, it also prices in a lot of good news in a very short period of time. There are still some concerns to address, including the company's substantial debt load, a history of operating losses, and the fact that it hasn't paid a dividend in years.
Some drugmaker alternatives may be more attractive
While Teva produces what are essentially knockoffs, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) manufacture originals. They both have long histories of success in this area, despite the intense competition and highly technical nature of the pharmaceutical industry. They are both facing patent cliffs in the coming years, which makes investors worry about their future prospects.
However, both are financially strong companies, with materially less leverage than Teva, as the chart above highlights. Moreover, both have consistently been profitable, while Teva has a history of losses, as the chart below shows:
The strong profits that Pfizer and Merck enjoy enable them to invest in new drugs to replace those that are losing patent protection.
Pfizer has been working aggressively to get its drug pipeline back on track after its own weight-loss drug failed. It acquired a company with a promising GLP-1 candidate, and has partnered with another to market a GLP-1 drug (assuming it proves effective). Pfizer is proving that even a drug setback isn't enough to stop the company.
Merck, meanwhile, recently made its own acquisition, agreeing to buy Cidara Therapeutics. The purpose of the deal was to get access to Cidara's influenza drug candidate. Like Pfizer, Merck is demonstrating that it can effectively manage the challenges of patent expirations.
For investors who think in decades, not days, the lagging performance of Merck and Pfizer presents a buying opportunity. Dividend lovers will likely prefer Merck and its current 3.5% yield, because its dividend payout ratio is a very reasonable 45% or so. Pfizer's 6.7% yield is now much higher, but it comes along with a worrying payout ratio of 100%.
Teva looks expensive after a big rally
There's no reason that Teva's stock price couldn't keep running higher, but long-term investors should keep its valuation in mind. The price-to-earnings ratio is currently sitting just shy of 50, indicating exactly how much good news investors have priced into the shares. Pfizer's P/E ratio is 15 and Merck's is 13.
You can buy the market darling with the mediocre history, or get a bargain price on two well-respected industry leaders as they continue to successfully navigate the drug industry's normal ups and downs. Most long-term investors should probably go with the still-out-of-favor Pfizer or Merck.
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Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Merck and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Should You Forget Teva Pharmaceutical and Buy These Unstoppable Stocks Instead?

Key Points
One of these pharmaceutical leaders overcame a major obstacle and has a strong outlook.
The other is actively pushing greater innovation to get around a rapidly approaching patent cliff.
They both look reasonably valued and are solid dividend-paying corporations.
Looking for great stocks to be had at a bargain? Even though broader equities have performed well this year, there are companies, particularly in sectors that haven't kept up with the rest of the market, that look affordable at current levels. One such sector is healthcare.
Two leading medical stocks that appear reasonable at current levels are AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) and Merck (NYSE: MRK). The former has actually beaten the market in 2025, while the latter is in the red year to date. However, looking ahead to 2026, both drugmakers are attractive stocks to buy.
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1. AbbVie
As the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That may apply to AbbVie, which lost patent exclusivity for the best-selling medicine in the industry's history, immunology drug Humira, in 2023.
AbbVie quickly returned to top-line growth, though. The company now has a more diversified lineup of products and is less dependent on a single medicine for sales growth. To be clear, some products in its lineup still do much of the heavy lifting. That's particularly the case with Skyrizi and Rinvoq, the heirs to Humira's immunology empire.
Even so, AbbVie is now an overall healthier and less risky company, especially since it won't have to deal with patent cliffs for any major products at least through 2030. That grants the healthcare giant plenty of time to plan for the future. AbbVie has been making strategic moves, advancing key products through the pipeline, and securing important licensing deals and acquisitions to bolster its business.
One of the company's goals is to diversify even more by making a strong push into other therapeutic areas, including oncology. AbbVie has several notable pipeline candidates in this niche, including ABBV-969, which is being developed to treat metastatic prostate cancer, and ABBV-514, targeting lung cancer and neck cancer, among others.
AbbVie has also made a move to join the fast-growing weight loss market through a licensing deal with Denmark-based Gubra A/S for an investigational weight loss medicine, GUB014295. Over the next five years, AbbVie could make significant progress in its pipeline and regulatory efforts while continuing to generate steady revenue and earnings.
Lastly, the drugmaker remains one of the better dividend stocks on the market. AbbVie is a Dividend King. That title applies to companies that have increased their dividends annually for at least 50 straight years. AbbVie's long streak speaks volumes about the resilience of its business.
Amid all that, its stock looks like a bargain, trading at 15.9 times forward earnings, while the average for the healthcare sector is 18.3, and the S&P 500's is 22.6. AbbVie is a fantastic dividend stock to consider heading into 2026.
2. Merck
Merck's two main franchises are under threat. The company's HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Gardasil 9, have experienced substantial declines in sales this year primarily due to lower demand in China. Elsewhere, Merck's cancer medicine Keytruda, which accounts for a significant percentage of its revenue, may face intense competition, including biosimilars, in the next five years. The forward-looking market isn't happy with the company's medium-term outlook.
However, Merck isn't going down without a fight. The company has new approvals and pipeline candidates that should help it mitigate lower sales from its current key franchises.
Consider how Merck is resurrecting its vaccine business. Last year, it earned approval for Capvaxive, a pneumonia vaccine that showed promise due to its potential to target a broader patient population than its competitors. It has since made strong commercial headway. In the third quarter, it generated $244 million in sales.
Merck also recently announced the acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics, a biotech company developing a highly promising antiviral drug that could provide long-lasting protection against the flu in patients, including the elderly and those who are immunocompromised. There is still a need in this niche, considering flu vaccines are typically not very effective. With these moves, Merck aims to strengthen its vaccine business.
Then there is Winrevair, a medicine for pulmonary arterial hypertension that earned the green light last year and is seeking important label expansions. Some analysts have estimated that it could generate about $6 billion in sales by 2030.
By the way, a new subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda also appears highly promising, with the potential for $7.6 billion in sales by 2030, according to some projections. Additionally, there are many more candidates in the pipeline. Merck is also a solid dividend stock that has increased its payouts by 93.8% over the past decade.
Lastly, the company's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) looks more than reasonable at 10.5. Merck may be down, but investing in the stock today and holding onto it for the long term could yield terrific returns.
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Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie and Merck. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Here Are 2 Affordable Healthcare Stocks to Buy Heading Into 2026

Bristol Myers BMY has a broad oncology portfolio, which includes blockbuster immuno-oncology drugs, Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig and Yervoy, among others.
Among these, Opdivo (nivolumab) is the top revenue generator. The drug is approved for several oncology indications.
Consistent label expansion of the drug has enabled it to maintain momentum. The FDA recently accepted and granted priority review to the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Opdivo.
The sBLA is seeking approval of the drug in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) for adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL). The regulatory body assigned a target action date of April 8, 2026.
The sBLA was accepted based on the phase III SWOG S1826 (CA2098UT) study, which evaluated Opdivo in combination with AVD for adult and pediatric patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV cHL.
Opdivo raked in sales of approximately $2.5 billion in the third quarter, up 7% year over year, driven primarily by continued demand. U.S. sales are being driven by a strong launch in MSI-high colorectal cancer and continued growth in first-line non-small cell lung cancer, while international sales are supported by label expansions of the drug across multiple markets.
In addition, the approval of Opdivo Qvantig (nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy) injection for subcutaneous use has bolstered Opdivo’s franchise. The initial uptake has been strong.
Bristol Myers now expects global Opdivo sales, together with Qvantig, to increase in the high single-digit to low double-digit range in 2025 (previous guidance: mid to high single-digit range in 2025), driven by strong performance year to date.
We note that BMY is currently banking on the label expansion of approved drugs and approval of new drugs to stabilize its revenue base, as its legacy drugs (Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane) face generic competition.
Competition for BMY’s Oncology Drugs
While the label expansion of Opdivo is positive, the immuno-oncology space is dominated by pharma giant Merck’s MRK blockbuster drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab), along with Roche’s RHHBY Tecentriq.
Keytruda is approved for several types of cancer and alone accounts for more than 50% of MRK’s pharmaceutical sales. Merck is currently working on different strategies to drive the long-term growth of Keytruda.
Roche’s immuno-oncology Tecentriq is also approved for various oncology indications — early-stage (adjuvant) NSCLC, small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer, among others. In addition to intravenous infusion, Roche has also obtained approval for Tecentriq as a subcutaneous injection.
BMY’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Bristol Myers have lost 9.5% year to date against the industry’s growth of 18.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, BMY is trading at a discount to the large-cap pharma industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, BMY’s shares currently trade at 8.52x forward earnings, higher than its mean of 8.40x but lower than the large-cap pharma industry’s 16.59x.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share has moved north in the past 60 days, while that for 2026 EPS has moved south.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BMY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Can Opdivo's Label Expansions Help Bristol Myers Sustain Its Momentum?

Merck (MRK) ended the recent trading session at $99.01, demonstrating a +1.42% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.21%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.35%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.26%.
The pharmaceutical company's shares have seen an increase of 6.75% over the last month, surpassing the Medical sector's gain of 3.7% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.89%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Merck in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $2.07, showcasing a 20.35% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $16.16 billion, up 3.43% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $8.98 per share and revenue of $64.78 billion, indicating changes of +17.39% and +0.95%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.14% lower. As of now, Merck holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Merck currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.88. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 13.74.
We can also see that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.89. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.59.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, positioning it in the bottom 26% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Merck (MRK) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, on 12/15/25, Gilead Sciences Inc (Symbol: GILD), Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK), and Horace Mann Educators Corp. (Symbol: HMN) will all trade ex-dividend for their respective upcoming dividends. Gilead Sciences Inc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.79 on 12/30/25, Merck & Co Inc will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.85 on 1/8/26, and Horace Mann Educators Corp. will pay its quarterly dividend of $0.35 on 12/31/25. As a percentage of GILD's recent stock price of $121.34, this dividend works out to approximately 0.65%, so look for shares of Gilead Sciences Inc to trade 0.65% lower — all else being equal — when GILD shares open for trading on 12/15/25. Similarly, investors should look for MRK to open 0.87% lower in price and for HMN to open 0.78% lower, all else being equal.
Below are dividend history charts for GILD, MRK, and HMN, showing historical dividends prior to the most recent ones declared.
Gilead Sciences Inc (Symbol: GILD):
Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK):
Horace Mann Educators Corp. (Symbol: HMN):
In general, dividends are not always predictable, following the ups and downs of company profits over time. Therefore, a good first due diligence step in forming an expectation of annual yield going forward, is looking at the history above, for a sense of stability over time. This can help in judging whether the most recent dividends from these companies are likely to continue. If they do continue, the current estimated yields on annualized basis would be 2.60% for Gilead Sciences Inc, 3.48% for Merck & Co Inc, and 3.11% for Horace Mann Educators Corp..
In Thursday trading, Gilead Sciences Inc shares are currently up about 1.7%, Merck & Co Inc shares are up about 0.8%, and Horace Mann Educators Corp. shares are up about 1.4% on the day.
Click here to learn which 25 S.A.F.E. dividend stocks should be on your radar screen »
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Ex-Dividend Reminder: Gilead Sciences, Merck and Horace Mann Educators

Investors in Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) saw new options become available today, for the January 2026 expiration. At Stock Options Channel, our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the MRK options chain for the new January 2026 contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest.
The put contract at the $89.00 strike price has a current bid of 50 cents. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $89.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $88.50 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of MRK, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $98.03/share today.
Because the $89.00 strike represents an approximate 9% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 79%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 0.56% return on the cash commitment, or 4.10% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost.
Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Merck & Co Inc, and highlighting in green where the $89.00 strike is located relative to that history:
Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $107.00 strike price has a current bid of 30 cents. If an investor was to purchase shares of MRK stock at the current price level of $98.03/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $107.00. Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 9.46% if the stock gets called away at the January 2026 expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if MRK shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for Merck & Co Inc, as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing MRK's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $107.00 strike highlighted in red:
Considering the fact that the $107.00 strike represents an approximate 9% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 75%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Should the covered call contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 0.31% boost of extra return to the investor, or 2.23% annualized, which we refer to as the YieldBoost.
The implied volatility in the put contract example is 36%, while the implied volatility in the call contract example is 32%.
Meanwhile, we calculate the actual trailing twelve month volatility (considering the last 250 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $98.03) to be 30%. For more put and call options contract ideas worth looking at, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

MRK January 2026 Options Begin Trading

AbbVie ABBV has been significantly expanding its presence in the oncology space. What started initially as a two-drug franchise consisting of blood cancer drugs Imbruvica and Venclexta has also branched out into solid tumors. The company’s latest offerings now include Epkinly (for lymphoma), Elahere (for ovarian cancer) and, most recently, Emrelis (for lung cancer). Sales of the oncology segment accounted for more than 11% of AbbVie’s total revenues in the first nine months of 2025, which grew 3% year over year.
This expansion is driven by a combination of both organic and inorganic strategies. While Emrelis is AbbVie’s first internally developed solid tumor drug, Epkinly and Elahere were added to the company’s portfolio through acquisitions or collaborations. Sales of these newer drugs, combined with the steadily rising Venclexta sales, have helped more than offset the fall in Imbruvica sales, which have been declining due to stiff competition from novel oral therapies.
The company also has an exciting and diverse pipeline of promising new therapies across both blood cancers and solid tumors. AbbVie is strengthening its portfolio of oncology medicines with the addition of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are being considered a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. ADCs allow better treatment of cancer by harnessing the targeting power of antibodies to deliver cytotoxic molecule drugs to tumors.
A regulatory filing is currently under FDA review seeking approval for the ADC therapy pivekimab sunirine to treat a rare blood cancer called blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). If approved, this could be the third ADC in AbbVie’s portfolio, joining Elahere and Emrelis. The company is also developing an investigational ADC called Temab-A (formerly ABBV-400) in a late-stage study for metastatic colorectal cancer and in separate mid-stage studies for gastroesophageal and lung cancers.
AbbVie is also developing oncology therapies beyond ADC. A key candidate in the company’s pipeline is etentamig/ABBV-383, a BCMA x CD3 bispecific being developed in a late-stage study for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. AbbVie is also conducting label expansion studies on its approved products to strengthen its oncology footprint further.
Competition in the Oncology Space
Other large players in the oncology segment are AstraZeneca AZN, Merck MRK and Pfizer PFE.
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now account for 43% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 16% year over year in the first nine months of 2025, driven by strong performance of medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounted for about 48% of MRK’s total revenues in the first nine months of 2025.
Pfizer’s oncology revenues grew 7% in the first nine months of 2025, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev. The segment now accounts for more than 27% of Pfizer’s total revenues.
ABBV’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is trading at a slight discount to the industry. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 15.87 times forward earnings compared to the industry's average of 16.31. The stock is trading above its five-year mean of 13.44.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have declined in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Free Report: Profiting from the 2nd Wave of AI Explosion
The next phase of the AI explosion is poised to create significant wealth for investors, especially those who get in early. It will add literally trillion of dollars to the economy and revolutionize nearly every part of our lives.
Investors who bought shares like Nvidia at the right time have had a shot at huge gains.
But the rocket ride in the "first wave" of AI stocks may soon come to an end. The sharp upward trajectory of these stocks will begin to level off, leaving exponential growth to a new wave of cutting-edge companies.
Zacks' AI Boom 2.0: The Second Wave report reveals 4 under-the-radar companies that may soon be shining stars of AI’s next leap forward.
Access AI Boom 2.0 now, absolutely free >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Here's How AbbVie's Oncology Drugs are Aiding Top-line Growth

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (Symbol: VIG) where we have detected an approximate $806.7 million dollar inflow -- that's a 0.8% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 454,910,177 to 458,569,984). Among the largest underlying components of VIG, in trading today International Business Machines Corp (Symbol: IBM) is down about 0.4%, Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) is up about 0.3%, and McDonald's Corp (Symbol: MCD) is lower by about 0.6%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the VIG Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of VIG, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, VIG's low point in its 52 week range is $169.32 per share, with $222.81 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $220.74. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Merck & Company, Inc.

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