Merck rises on quarterly results beat

Drugmaker Merck's MRK.N shares rise 1.6% to $79.97 premarket

MRK posts Q1 revenue of $15.53 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of $15.30 billion - data compiled by LSEG

Co reports Q1 adj. profit of $2.22/share vs analysts' average estimate of $2.14/share

Cuts 2025 profit forecast to $8.82 and $8.97/share, compared to a previous range $8.88 to $9.03/share

MRK says forecast cut was due to charge related to $2 billion licensing agreement with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals to access its heart drug

Co also says forecast includes $200 million impact of tariffs implemented to date by U.S. government on imports from other countries

As of last close, MRK stock down 20.8% YTD