Confidence in Merck

You've seen the Netflix movie too.

 

Merck isn't alone. IBM reported first quarter earnings today. 1Q15 was the 12th consecutive quarter where top line revenue DECLINED. That's three straight years. IBM's revenue was 107.9 billion in 2012. It's 93 billion today.

I laughed at some idiot on CNBC today that said "IBM's turnaround to the cloud space is rather protracted." He's got his head in the clouds if he thinks IBM is going to survive.

 

Everything you should know regarding "confidence in Merck" will be revealed next week during the 1st qtr earnings briefing.

 

He's a r***** and so is anyone else that thinks the "cloud" is anything new or different. Cloud is just the newest, politically correct term for outsourcing, and outsourcing is VERY expensive. Do people really think "cloud" servers run for free on sunshine and unicorn droppings?

 

He should shave. Is he 17?
No, he's in his late 50's. Historically Hispanic have very sparse facial hair.
What stock do you put in Friday's numbers Vs.
Was it an encouraging meeting?
It was very encouraging. I look forward to a bright future with Metabolics.

 

I work in IT and can confidently say that there are no such filter on Cafepharma.

 

English translation please.

 

Correct! "The Cloud" is not a new concept. Not that anybody here gives a shit, but the term "Cloud Computing" is derived from a symbol shown on a flow chart depicting a network of computers which is in the shape of a cloud. The Cloud is nothing more than a datacenter with many small computers ("servers") in it that is remotely connected to your workplace via a network.

Companies like Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Amazon Web Services are in the cloud computing business. They want your company to go with their offerings, be their offering a "private" or a "public" cloud. It's all bullshit computer-speak designed to separate your company from it's money, and fool your execs into thinking they doing the right thing for their business.

And believe it or not, it's a strategy that's working too..... You wouldn't believe how profitable the cloud biz is! Why do you think all of those companies I mentioned above are rushing to get in it??

 

It never creases to amaze me how bad decisions that cost the company MORE money than it previously had to spend are considered successes. As long as our "business partners" (companies that fly execs all over the globe, dangle board seats in front of them, and shower them with gifts) are happy, it's all good.

 

Here we go.....

 

ALL IS WELL WITH MOTHER, FIVE EXCEEDINGLY POSITIVE BUSINESS ARTICLES INCLUDING BEATING QUARTERLY STOCK RETURNS BY 11 CENTS. PRAISE BE OUR LEADERSHIP. THIRD AND FORTH QUARTER RESULTS SHOULD BE ASTRONOMICAL AFTER THE JULY EXPULSIONS.
KEN YOU DESERVE THE SALARY!

 

Q1 revenues off 8% ; Net income down 45%. GAAP EPS guidence lowered.
Ken has demonstrated he has no impact on income. He can only affect expenses. More cuts coming. All tablet products down except Januvia and how long will that last? Vaccines on life support. I thought Merck bought Schering, in part for the consumer products division. That was down 99%. The Schering buy/merger is going down as the biggest disaster in the history of business lemons. The morons who brokered that deal should be the first cut. What a boondoggle.

 

You are an idiot. Consumer products now belong to Bayer. Mrk is a lean, mean profit machine.

 

Revenue, net income all DOWN! " Profit" I don't think that word means what you think it means. Your mommy should lock up your keyboard. You keep hitting the moron button.

 

Stock up $5 today, onward and upward!

 

I seriously don't understand it. When did beating lowered expectations become such a good thing. Merck continues to make less money quarter after quarter. The fact that the loss in revenue was not as bad as expected is actually a reason for the stock to jump up. Sales, revenue and EPS were less than 1Q2014 which was less than year before that. The company is selling off a variety of assets and gutting its workforce. I guess investors are buying into the concept of growing the business with less, except there is no sign this strategy is working. Oh...and the negative effect of foreign exchange is simply another lame ass excuse. This is an ongoing dynamic that is simply a consequence of selling product abroad. When it is favorable exchange rate comes into play you never hear them say so, instead they simply report the increase in foreign revenues. Four years of continued bad news and excuses hardly seems reason to increase share price.

Overall, total sales in the first quarter were $9.4 million, down 8% year over year but higher than the Street consensus estimate of $9 billion. Merck attributed lower sales in the March quarter to the negative impact of foreign currency exchange and the divestiture of consumer products.

Merck pharmaceutical sales totaled $8.3 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 2% year over year. Excluding the negative effect of foreign exchange, pharmaceutical sales would have risen 5% in the quarter.

Sales of the diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet rose 4% year over year to $1.4 billion. On Monday night, Merck announced that an important heart-safety study of Januvia achieved its main goal.

Remicade, Merck's rheumatoid arthritis drug, reported sales of $501 million, down 17% year over year, largely due to the loss of patent protection and the launch of a biosimilar copy of the drug in Europe.

On an adjusted basis, Merck reported first quarter earnings per share of 85 cents, topping the Street consensus of 74 cents per share but down from the year-ago quarter when the company reported adjusted earnings of 88 cents per share.

Including all charges, Merck earned 33 cents per share in the first quarter, down from GAAP earnings of 57 cents per share in the first quarter 2014.

 

I have been retired for 9 years and hold 6700 shares of Merck which is at 60 today. That is approximately 25% of my net worth. I was with Key Pharmaceuticals, Schering Plough and ultimately Merck. All my time with previous companies went toward retirement and had 28 years at retirement at the age of 62. I really couldn't wait to get out, things were changing, you had canned details, reps stepping over each other, there were so many. I really have empathy for the rep today with managed care and doing a lot of unnecessary computer work.
At one time it was a prestigious profession. I remember in the early 70's going to see a cardiologist in NYC and asked to sit down, have a cup of coffee while I talked about my products using home made detail aids and studies I copied at the nearby university medical center. This was the norm. I wish everyone who decides to stick it out good luck.

 

I probably shouldn't need to point this out, but you've managed to lose money on your 6700 Merck shares over the last nine years. In the biggest bull market in history, you actually lost money on a substantial portion of your net worth.

Here's some free financial planning advice. Sell your Merck shares. ASAP. It has been one of the worst performing stocks in the market over the last decade and it's only going to get worse over the next decade. The company is a damned train wreck and you have 20% of your wealth tied to it. WTF? Sell that sh!t immediately.

 

What really stands out in this post is the 25% of net worth in company stock. Time to diversify dude.

 

A number of years ago there was a Oncology manager who considered himself a market wizard and had a very large position in Merck stock. You needed to see his white face when the Vioxx situation hit.