Merck Is Up Over 3% On NYSE This Morning: Solid Q4 2018 -- And "Pretty Sunny" 2019 Ahead...

I am sure you've all read it by now, so I will make this brief. Keytruda rumbles into mega mega blockbuster territory, at year end 2018. That's about 60 per cent of the story.

And so, I decided to sleep in -- since we are finally above zero here(!). . . but here is the rest of the good news:

. . . .[Merck] posted moderately stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Friday, and issued robust profit guidance for 2019, as sales of its key Keytruda cancer drug topped estimates.

Merck said non-GAAP earnings for the three months ending in December came in at $1.04 per share, up 6.1% from the same period last year and one penny ahead of the consensus Street forecast. Group sales, Merck said, rose 5% to $11 billion, just ahead of the $10.97 billion estimate. However, Keytruda sales rose 64% from last year to $2.15 billion, again beating the consensus forecast of $2.12 billion. . . .

Onward -- just seven days now, until desert heat, for a week. Grin.

नमस्ते