Merck & Co., Inc. focuses on producing medicines, vaccines, anti-infective and anti-parasitic drugs, fertility management products, in addition to pet recovery services and livestock data management tools.
Based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, Merck is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies in the world.
The company sells its pharmaceutical products to drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies and managed health care providers such as health maintenance organizations.
Merck traces its history back to to the mid 17th century, when a apothecarist by the name of Jacob Friedrick Merck, acquired the Angel Pharmacy (Engel Apotheke) in Darmstadt, Germany.
In 1816 the pharmacy was taken over by Heinrich Emanuel Merck, Emanuel and his successors slowly built up a chemical-pharmaceutical factory.
In the late 19th century George Merck moved to the United States and established Merck & Co. in New York. However, in 1917 Merck & Co. in the US was re-established as an independent American company – because of wartime policy.
In 1953 Merck & Co. merged with Philadelphia-based Sharp & Dohme, Inc, making it the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the US.
In 2009 Merck merged with its main competitor Schering-Plough for US$41 billion.
Merck & Co. Inc. is known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada.
It is comprised of four operating segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, Consumer Care, and Alliances.
According to Booz & Company, Merck is among the fifteen top companies in the United States that best represent success.
Merck also markets and publishes the world’s best-selling medical textbooks.
Merck & Co., Inc. – Company Overview
- Chairman, President and CEO: Kenneth Frazier
- Type: Public
- Industry: Pharmaceuticals
- Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- NYSE stock ticker symbol: MRK
- Dow Jones Industrial Average Component
- S&P 500 Component
- Revenue: 44.033 billion USD (2013)
- Net income: $4.517 billion USD (2013)
- Diluted earnings per share: $1.47 USD (2013)
- Employees: 76,000
- Company head office: One Merck Drive, Whitehouse Station, N. J., USA
- Investor relations contact number: 908-423-5881
- Website: http://www.merck.com/
Merck & Co., Inc. – Live Stock Market Data
Merck & Co., Inc. – Financial Results
| Income data (in $ millions) | 2013 | 2012 |
| Revenue | $44,033 | $47,267 |
| Research and development | $7,503 | $8,168 |
| Costs, Expenses and Other | $38,488 | $38,528 |
| Income Before Taxes | $5,545 | $8,739 |
| Taxes on Income | $1,028 | $2,440 |
| Net Income | $4,517 | $6,299 |
| Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests | $113 | $131 |
| Net Income Attributable to Merck & Co., Inc. | $4,404 | $6,168 |
| Comprehensive Income Attributable to Merck & Co., Inc | $6,889 | $4,618 |
| Balance sheet data (in $ millions) | ||
| Total assets | $105,645 | $106,132 |
| Long-Term Debt | $20,539 | $16,254 |
| Total equity | $52,326 | $55,463 |
| Cash flow data (in $ millions) | ||
| Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities | $11,654 | $10,022 |
| Net Cash Used in Investing Activities | $(3,148) | $(6,805) |
| Net Cash Used in Financing Activities | $(5,990) | $(3,267) |
| Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents | $2,170 | $(80) |
| Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Year | $15,621 | $13,451 |
| Common share data (in $) | ||
| Earnings (loss) per Common Share – Basic | $1.49 | $2.03 |
| Earnings (loss) per Common Share – Diluted | $1.47 | $2.00 |
Source: “Merck & Co., Inc. 2013 Annual Report – Form 10-K”
Merck & Co, Inc. news by Market Business News:
May 6, 2014: Bayer bought Merck’s consumer business for $14.2 billion. Merck’s consumer healthcare division includes products such as Coppertone sunscreen, foot care by Dr. Scholl’s, and the anti-allergy drug Claritin – the division generates approximately 70% of its income in the US.