Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK, ETR:6MK) shares fell more than 10% after the drugmaker issued weak guidance for 2025 and announced it would halt shipments of its HPV vaccine Gardasil to China until at least the middle of the year due to declining demand.
The company reported a 17% year-over-year decline in Gardasil sales to $1.55 billion for the fourth quarter.
This prompted investor concerns as Gardasil has been one of Merck’s top revenue drivers along with Keytruda.
For the full year, Gardasil sales declined 3% to $8.6 billion, while Keytruda sales grew 18% to $29.5 billion.
"Like many other companies, we've seen increased pressure on discretionary consumer spending, including across the vaccine space more broadly, and demand for Gardasil has not recovered to the level we had expected," CEO Rob Davis told investors during the company’s earnings call.
The company said it has pulled its long-term target of $11 billion Gardasil sales by 2030 in response to its decision.
Merck guided 2025 sales in the range of $64.1 billion and $65.6 billion, below analyst forecasts of $67.3 billion.
This overshadowed better-than-expected sales and profits for the fourth quarter.
Earnings per share of $1.72 topped estimates of $1.67 while revenue of $15.62 billion was higher than the expected $15.51 billion.
Merck shares traded down 10.8% at about $89 shortly before midday on Tuesday.