Merck (XSGO:MRK) Shares Outstanding (EOP) : 2,532 Mil (As of Dec. 2023)

Merck Shares Outstanding (EOP) Chart

Merck Annual Data
	Trend	Dec14	Dec15	Dec16	Dec17	Dec18	Dec19	Dec20	Dec21	Dec22	Dec23
Shares Outstanding (EOP)		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					2,539.02	2,530.23	2,527.60	2,537.83	2,531.63

Merck Quarterly Data
	Jun19	Sep19	Dec19	Mar20	Jun20	Sep20	Dec20	Mar21	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23	Mar24
Shares Outstanding (EOP)	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															2,537.45	2,539.43	2,535.29	2,531.63	2,533.03

Competitive Comparison of Merck's Shares Outstanding (EOP)

For the Drug Manufacturers - General subindustry, Merck's Shares Outstanding (EOP), along with its competitors' market caps and Shares Outstanding (EOP) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Merck's Shares Outstanding (EOP) Distribution in the Drug Manufacturers Industry

For the Drug Manufacturers industry and Healthcare sector, Merck's Shares Outstanding (EOP) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Merck's Shares Outstanding (EOP) falls into.

Merck Shares Outstanding (EOP) Calculation

Shares outstanding are shares that have been authorized, issued, and purchased by investors and are held by them. They have voting rights and represent ownership in the corporation by the person that holds the shares. They should be distinguished from treasury shares, which are shares held by the corporation itself, having no exercisable rights.

Shares outstanding can be calculated as either basic or fully diluted. The fully diluted shares outstanding count includes diluting securities, such as options, warrants or convertibles.

Please note: GuruFocus named Shares Outstanding (EOP) is the shares for that end of period. It is usually used to calculate balance sheet related items, such as Book Value per Share, etc. While Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) and Shares Outstanding (Basic Average) are the weighted average shares over a period of time (a year, a quarter, or so). They are usually used to calculate income statement or cashflow statement related items, such as Earnings per Share (Diluted), etc.

Merck  (XSGO:MRK) Shares Outstanding (EOP) Explanation

A company may buy back shares or issue shares in any fiscal period. If a company buys back shares, we should observe that the total number of shares decline. If the company issues new shares, the number of shares outstanding increases.

Usually the presence of treasury shares and a history of buyback are good indicators that company has competitive advantage. But studies have shown that companies usually buy back at wrong time. Buying back shares below its intrinsic value increases value for remaining shareholders. Buying back overvalued shares destroys value for existing shareholders.

Be Aware

Warren Buffett looks for consistency and upward long term trend. Because of share repurchase it is possible for net earnings trend to differ from EPS trend. He preferred net income over EPS. The companies with durable competitive advantage companies report higher % net earnings to total revenues.

Important: If a company is showing net earnings history greater than 20% on total revenues, it is probably benefiting from a long term competitive advantage.

If net earnings is less than 10%, likely to be in a highly competitive business.

Merck Shares Outstanding (EOP) Related Terms

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Merck (XSGO:MRK) Business Description