Will Merck's Q1 2011 Earnings Call Go As Well As J&J's Did?

In nine days, Merck is set to report on first quarter 2011 results. We'll live blog it. I will be keenly interested in whether the macro- trends that allowed J&J to up its outlook for the full year 2011 -- and thus drove J&J's shares up 3.5 percent on the NYSE yesterday, alone -- will shine through, in Merck's Q1 2011 results.

Without the time to really do the diligence on J&J's results, I can only suspect that a fair amount of the J&J 2011 halo/improvement was generated by the very favorable revenue-and-margin enhancements it will start to receive in July 2011 -- as Merck surrenders parts of the Remicade/Simponi franchise -- under the "Schering-Plough's change of control" transaction settlement agreement. Which means Merck may not show such an upside surprise. We shall see. Here is the Whitehouse Station presser, and details:

. . . .Investors, journalists and the general public may access a live audio webcast of the call on Merck's website at http://www.merck.com/investors/events-and-presentations/home.html. Software needed to listen to the webcast is available on the corporate website and should be downloaded prior to the beginning of the webcast. A replay of the webcast will be available at approximately 11 a.m. EDT on April 29 and will remain on the website for 12 months. The quarter's sales and earnings news release and supplemental financial disclosures also will be available in the Newsroom and Investor sections of the company's website at www.merck.com.

Members of the media are invited to monitor the call by dialing (706) 758-9928 or (800) 399-7917 and use ID code number 51049889. Journalists who wish to ask questions are requested to contact a member of Merck's Media Relations team at the conclusion of the call. . . .

Does this mean that there will be no live Q&A session, on the call? I am unsure. [Certainly the applicable SEC rules don't require that a live broadcast of the analysts' follow-up questions and commentary be included in real time. It would be odd not to do so, just the same.]

Do check back -- but I think Merck will post solid results -- just nothing world-beating.