Merck’s Operating Expenditure and Recent Developments

Merck’s (MRK) M&P (materials and production) expenses grew ~10% YoY (year-over-year) to $3.4 billion in the second quarter of 2018, while its M&A (marketing and administrative) expenses were flat YoY at $2.5 billion. The company’s R&D (research and development) expenses grew ~28% YoY to $2.3 billion from $1.8 billion, and its restricting expenditure grew 37% YoY to $228.0 million from $166.0 million. Analysts expect Merck to report non-GAAP M&P expenses of $2.7 billion in the third quarter, and non-GAAP R&D expenses of $2.0 billion.