Merck beats 2Q net income and revenue expectations

Merck & Co. (MRK) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $687 million.

On a per-share basis, the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company said it had profit of 24 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 86 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 80 cents per share.

The pharmaceutical company posted revenue of $9.79 billion in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $9.71 billion.

Merck expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.45 to $3.55 per share.

Merck shares have increased slightly since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has dropped 2 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MRK at http://www.zacks.com/ap/MRK

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Keywords: Merck, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings