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Special Report Merck Just Made a Big Bet on a New Cancer Growth Engine Author: Jessica Mitacek. First Published: 3/31/2026. 
Key Points- Merck is set to acquire Terns Pharmaceutical for $6.7 billion, adding its promising leukemia treatment to its growing hematology and cancer pipeline.
- This is Merck’s third multi-billion dollar deal in a year, a bolt-on strategy projected to drive a $70 billion commercial opportunity by the mid-2030s.
- With an average five-year gross margin of 73% and 14 consecutive years of dividend increases, Merck remains a top-tier performer with a Moderate Buy rating.
- Special Report: Tariff checks worth up to 8,276 dollars per quarter explained
While the health care sector has struggled this year, not all Big Pharma firms have been affected equally. Shares of New Jersey-based Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) have outperformed both the sector and the broader market, rising more than 12%. The drugmaker's stock recently received a boost after it announced plans to acquire Terns Pharmaceuticals—a move that will strengthen its cancer treatment pipeline and reinforce Merck's reputation as a top-tier serial acquirer. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been a major driver of Merck's steady growth and market-cap expansion. Its market value now exceeds $296 billion, trailing only Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), at roughly $830 billion and $370 billion, respectively. Merck's Terns Acquisition Is a Pivotal Oncology PlayOn March 25, Merck announced it had agreed to acquire Terns, a clinical-stage oncology company developing therapies that include TERN-701, an oral allosteric BCR–ABL1 inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia. According to the press release, Merck will acquire Terns for $53 per share in cash, for an approximate equity value of $6.7 billion. The company described TERN-701 as a "potential best-in-class candidate for the treatment of certain patients with chronic myeloid leukemia." The definitive agreement marks Merck's third multibillion-dollar acquisition in the past year. Although still clinical-stage, TERN-701 has shown "encouraging rates of molecular response and deep molecular response," including responses in patients with high disease burden who previously received multiple lines of therapy. M&A Activity Has Helped Support Merck's Earnings and Dividend ProfileCompleting the Terns deal underscores Merck's central role in the pharmaceutical industry and its consistently strong earnings track record. The company has missed analyst estimates only once in the past 19 quarters (since Q2 2021). When Merck reported Q4 2025 financials on Feb. 3, it posted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04, beating expectations of $2.01, and revenue of $16.40 billion, ahead of the $16.19 billion expected. With a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 16.45, Merck's EPS is forecast to rise nearly 10% over the next year, from $9.01 to $9.90. In his earnings call, CEO Rob Davis attributed the company's growth to new product launches, progress in key clinical programs, and added scale in respiratory and infectious diseases from the Verona Pharma and Cidara Therapeutics acquisitions. "As a result of this progress, we now have line of sight to over $70 billion of potential commercial opportunity by the mid-2030s, $20 billion more than just a year ago and more than double consensus 2028 peak Keytruda revenue of $35 billion," Davis said. While those revenue projections are appealing to shareholders and prospective investors, the bigger takeaway is the rapid scale Merck has achieved through its acquisitions strategy. That M&A activity—including the recent Terns announcement—has become a hallmark of the company. The Verona Pharma and Cidara Therapeutics deals, valued at $10 billion and $9.2 billion respectively, were followed by the $6.7 billion Terns agreement. Merck continues to pursue a bolt-on acquisition strategy to diversify its oncology, immunology, and infectious-disease pipeline. Seamless integration of these biotech companies into Merck's portfolio has accelerated growth and expanded market share while smoothing entry into new markets. As a result, the company has maintained a five-year average gross margin above 73%. Those high and expanding margins reflect strong pricing power and operational efficiency, which help Merck sustain and grow its dividend, currently yielding 2.84% (about $3.40 per share annually). Dividends are common among mature health care companies—especially large pharmaceutical and established managed-care firms—but Merck stands out. The company has increased its payout for 14 consecutive years and posts a five-year dividend growth rate of 5.75%. How Wall Street Feels About MerckOf the 18 analysts covering the stock, Merck has a consensus Moderate Buy rating, with 11 analysts assigning a Buy. The average one-year price target of $127.13 implies more than 7% upside. Institutional ownership remains above average at more than 76%, with inflows near $37 billion versus outflows of about $19 billion over the past 12 months. Current short interest of just 1.18% of the float—roughly 29 million of 2.47 billion outstanding shares—suggests limited bearish conviction. Merck has been in the green zone on TradeSmith's financial health indicator for more than six months, and it scores higher than 93% of the companies evaluated by MarketBeat, ranking 39th out of 858 stocks in the medical sector. | 
