Investing.com -- Merck & Co., Inc. reported first-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by robust oncology and animal health sales, with shares rising over 4% in pre-market trading on Thursday.

The pharmaceutical giant posted a loss of $1.28 per share on an adjusted basis, beating the consensus estimate of a loss of $1.48 per share. Revenue reached $16.29 billion, surpassing the $15.89 billion analyst estimate and representing 5% growth, or 3% excluding foreign exchange impacts, compared to $15.53 billion in the same quarter last year.

Both the adjusted and GAAP loss per share included a $3.62 per share charge related to the acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics.

KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX sales totaled $8.03 billion, up 12% from the prior year, or 8% excluding foreign exchange.

The growth was driven by higher global demand in metastatic indications and strong uptake in earlier-stage indications. WINREVAIR sales surged 88% to $525 million, reflecting continued U.S. uptake and early international launches. Animal Health sales grew 13% to $1.79 billion.

"We are moving with speed to transform our portfolio to one with a diversified set of growth drivers across a broad set of therapeutic areas," said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer.

For full-year 2026, Merck raised and narrowed its revenue guidance to between $65.8 billion and $67.0 billion, up from the prior range of $65.5 billion to $67.0 billion.

The company also raised its adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $5.04 to $5.16, compared to the previous range of $5.00 to $5.15. This guidance includes the $3.62 per share Cidara acquisition charge but excludes the planned acquisition of Terns Pharmaceuticals, expected to close in May, which would result in an additional one-time charge of approximately $2.35 per share.

The guidance midpoint of $5.10 for adjusted EPS represents the company’s updated expectation for the year.