Merck warns of tariff consequences

Merck & Company $MRK (-1,15 %) recently informed its investors that it expects a loss of around 200 million euros due to new tariffs. This news was not exactly unexpected, but it is causing concern among investors. The potential impact on the company's future returns could be significant. In particular, the impact of the tariffs could severely impact profitability in certain areas of Merck's business. Investors should follow developments closely and keep a close eye on possible adjustments to the company's strategy. In these turbulent times, it is crucial to stay informed and make the right decisions to protect the portfolio.

Procter & Gamble focuses on expensive products

In the USA, Procter & Gamble $PG (-1,21 %) has developed an exciting new strategy to meet the challenges posed by rising tariffs. The company plans to launch a product line that includes high-priced items such as €380 electric toothbrushes and improved razors. CFO Andre Schulten explained that price increases are a key strategy for the company to offset the financial burden of the government's volatile tariff policies. This approach has already proven successful during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Procter & Gamble was able to maintain its market position despite the economic uncertainties. However, the risks should not be underestimated, as consumer spending in the US is already showing a decline, which could potentially jeopardize sales figures. Nevertheless, Schulten sees a growth opportunity of EUR 5 billion in the USA, provided that more consumers can be won over to the new products. This will show how well the company can overcome the challenges.

Sources:

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/merck-warns-big-tariff-hit-172053404.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/p-g-leans-380-electric-163000777.html

Johnson & Johnson (Pharmaceuticals) - $JNJ (-0,73 %) Invests over 55 billion US$ in the USA within four years to expand production and researchreuters.com. Four new plants are planned (the first in Wilson, North Carolina, has already been launched)reuters.com. This step was taken in March 2025, shortly after the Trump administration imposed a import tariff of 25 % on medicines on medicines and is intended to help produce more medicines domesticallyreuters.com
reuters.com. (Source: company statement/Reuters)

Roche (Pharmaceuticals) - $ROG (-0,15 %) The Swiss pharmaceutical company announced 50 billion US$ investments in the USA over the next five yearsfaz.net. This is Roche's response to President Trump's threat to impose tariffs of ~25 % on pharmaceutical importsto produce more important medicines in the USAfaz.net
faz.net. Plans include 1,000 new jobs in production and research (plus approx. 11,000 jobs with suppliers and construction) in the USAfaz.net. Announcement was made in April 2025 (Source: Company statement/F.A.Z.)

Eli Lilly (Pharma) - $LLY (-0,26 %) Announced in Feb. 2025, 27 billion US$ to invest in the construction of four new production facilities in the USAreuters.com. This is expected to more than double US production capacity and create over 3,000 new high-tech jobs (plus ~10,000 construction jobs)reuters.com. The background to this is the threat of a 25% tariff on drug imports, which is prompting Lilly to relocate production from Ireland & Co. to the USAfaz.net. (Source: Company statement/Reuters)

Novartis (Pharma) - $NOVN (-0,85 %) Plant 23 billion US$ for the expansion of 10 US sites (including 6 new production plants and an R&D center in San Diego)reuters.com. This five-year investment offensive (announced on April 10, 2025) comes two days after Trump announced "big tariffs" on drug imports
reuters.com. Novartis wants to relocate the production of important drugs to the USA (>1,000 new highly qualified jobs plus ~4,000 jobs in construction and support)reuters.com
reuters.com. (Source: Company statement/Reuters)

Merck & Co (Pharmaceuticals) - $MRK (-1,15 %) In March 2025, the US pharmaceutical company (not to be confused with Merck KGaA) opened a new US$ 1 billion plant in North Carolina and announced plans to invest a total of ~8 billion US$ in the USA by 2028reuters.com
reuters.com. Trump is increasing the pressure on the industry to move production back and has threatened to impose 25 % tariffs on pharmaceutical products
reuters.com. Merck has responded by investing over USD 12 billion in US plants since 2018 and is continuing to expand in order to circumvent import tariffsreuters.com
reuters.com. (Source: Reuters)

Hyundai (Automotive) -$HYUD In March 2025, the South Korean manufacturer announced a package of 21 billion US$ of investments in the USAspectrumlocalnews.com. This includes, among other things US$ 5.8 billion for a new steel mill in Louisiana (approx. 1,400 jobs)spectrumlocalnews.com and a new e-car plant in Georgia (US$ 8 billion)which will create over 8,500 jobsspectrumlocalnews.com. Hyundai is thus increasing its US production capacity to over 1 million vehicles/year
autohaus.de
spectrumlocalnews.com. President Trump saw this as a success for his tariffs - Hyundai would "produce its steel in America and build cars in America and thus not have to pay tariffs"
autohaus.de
spectrumlocalnews.com. (Source: Company statement/Spectrum News)

Stellantis (Automotive) - $STLAM (-0,51 %) The Fiat-Chrysler/PSA Group provides 5 billion US$ to expand its US production facilitieswhitehouse.gov. The centerpiece is the reopening of the Belvidere plant (Illinois), which was shut down in 2023 to produce new models (including a mid-size pickup)automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com. This will create around 1,500 jobs for regular UAW employees will be restoredautomotivemanufacturingsolutions.com
automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com. This investment was announced in late 2024/early 2025 in connection with the new UAW collective bargaining agreement and Trump's auto tariffs (25% on imported cars from April 2025) agreed - Stellantis' Chairman met personally with Trump to "secure the future of the company"automotivemanufacturingsolutions.com. (Source: Company statement/FT/AMS)

TSMC (Semiconductor) - $TSM (-0,76 %) The Taiwanese chip contract manufacturer TSMC announced in March 2025 that it will invest an additional 100 billion US$ to invest in the USAreuters.com. The plan is to build five new factories over the next few years (three chip fabs, two packaging plants and a large R&D center)reuters.com
reuters.com. The background to this is US efforts to be less dependent on Asian chips (national security) - Trump emphasized that key semiconductors "be built here in the USA"reuters.com. TSMC's expansion is expected to create 40,000 construction jobs in four yearsreuters.com and reduce dependence on imports. (Source: Company statement/Reuters)

Apple (Electronics) - $AAPL (-2,25 %) The tech company announced 2025, 500 billion US$ to invest in US manufacturing and educationwhitehouse.gov. This enormous sum (over 4 years) includes already planned expenditures, but signals Apple's willingness, to relocate more production and value creation to the USA
reuters.com. Apple has been under pressure because many of its products (iPhone, Mac) are manufactured in China and are being targeted by Trump's China tariffs could be targeted by Trump's China tariffs. The investment pledge - including new US locations and supplier programs - is intended to help maintain exemptions from import tariffs and promote "Made in USA"reuters.com
reuters.com. (Source: Company statement/White House, Reuters)

Sources: Primary data from the companies and reports (F.A.Z., Reuters, Spectrum News, etc.), see citations.

In this article, I would like to give my personal assessment and opinion of some established pharmaceutical companies.

As a naive and uninformed person, I always believed that the pharmaceutical sector would play a major role in the future.

Now I have taken a closer look at the companies on the basis of fundamental key figures and have come to a very sobering conclusion.

However, I only evaluate the past and draw conclusions for the future from the past. I cannot evaluate and assess something like a pipeline because I lack the understanding and specialist knowledge.

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I looked at the following companies:

Bayer $BAYN (+0,56 %)

Eli Lilly $LLY (-0,26 %)

Johnson & Johnson $JNJ (-0,73 %)

Novo Nordisk $NOVO B (+0,03 %)

Roche $ROG (-0,15 %)

Pfizer $PFE (-1,4 %)

Merck $MRK (-1,15 %)

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Let's start with the most popular title:

$NOVO B (+0,03 %)

Novo Nordisk has the best fundamentals of all the stocks we looked at. The growth is right, the margins have been consistently above 30% since 2013 (unique selling point) and the return on equity is very high.

However, there has been disproportionately strong sales growth in the last 3 years. Probably due to GLP-1?

The question here is whether this growth can be maintained and whether sales can remain at this level? These uncertainties, as well as the regularization of GLP-1, could partly explain the fall in the share price in recent months. The valuation ratios are still quite sporty, but could this be justified in view of growth and margins? The quarterly figures will be very interesting.

I will start a savings plan and continue to monitor the shares.

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$BAYN (+0,56 %)

Bayer AG has lost over 60% of its share price since the beginning of 2023. In my naivety, I thought that the share was now attractively valued. In fact, it has a price/sales ratio of just 0.47% and yet I would not invest.

If you look at the balance sheets of the last 10 years and further back, growth and profitability, you can see that the share has always been fundamentally weak. At best, it may be interesting for a trade, but I would not invest.

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$LLY (-0,26 %)

Eli Lilly is basically a good company with solid figures. However, there have been one or two ups and downs over the years and balance sheets. If the company had invested in 2017 despite the poor figures at the time, it would be up several hundred percent today.

2024 was a record year for Eli Lilly with a 32 % increase in sales to around USD 45 billion. The main reason for this growth was the strong sales figures for diabetes drugs and weight loss injections.

In my opinion, the share is heavily overvalued despite its qualities and lags behind Novo Nordisk in many respects (fundamentally). I expect a significant correction here. This may not occur until 2026 or 27, but a price/earnings ratio of over 70 is in no way justified.

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$JNJ (-0,73 %)

I think Johnson & Johnson is a conglomerate, as it also sells consumer goods. It has little to no growth, quite good profitability and a dividend of over 3%🤑.

I guess you don't necessarily have to own this share, as it doesn't stand out from the others in any way (but it does, it beats Bayer, for example, across the board) but it could possibly be a defensive stock for stability, if you value that sort of thing, and the dividend could also be a decisive factor if you buy it at the right time.

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$PFE (-1,4 %)

Pfizer is clearly a corona profiteer that achieved record sales in 2021 and 22. After Corona, the awakening and a share price drop of over 50 %.

From 2010-2020, sales even declined and margins ranged from 12% to over 40%. I suspect that the turn around to the pre-corona level could succeed, so my price target is $29-44.

Here, too, I do not see a quality company, not a must-have and at best a trade or the dividend, which is currently over 6%, could also be interesting here.

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$ROG (-0,15 %)

I thought only gold and chocolate came from Switzerland. That's not the case, because there is also Roche, not Ferrero Rocher but the pharmaceutical company. You would have to read up on this and find out more, because there seem to have been serious capital measures since 2022, which make the fundamental data look very negative.

So it looks (if the data from my data provider is correct) that Roche has not been profitable since 22. Operating profit in 2024 has fallen to a level similar to the lows of 2015 and 17. Cash flow and return on capital are negative and there has actually been no sales growth since 2019.

If you look at the company from 2011-2021, they were actually quite solidly positioned.

I don't want to make a clear judgment on Roche because I don't think I have enough information to be able to correctly interpret these figures for the last three years, because what looks like a pile of 💩 (chocolate) could also be an opportunity. But I don't know.

Incidentally, it looks very similar at Novartis $NOVN (-0,85 %) looks very similar and so I am encouraged that there may be a political geographic background that needs to be identified in order to value these stocks correctly.

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$MRK (-1,15 %)

Merck shares are in the midfield. From 2010-2018, the figures even declined. Continuous growth has been observed since 2018, with record sales in the last 3 years in particular.

The share appears to be relatively cheaply valued with a P/E ratio of less than 14.

For me, the question remains whether this profitability is sustainable and whether a strong year will not be followed by another weak one. Personally, the risk/return ratio for Merck would be too low for me.

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My conclusion:

I will keep my distance from the pharmaceutical sector, as I am not in a position to assess a pipeline and there could always be medical breakthroughs that I am unable to predict.

On the other hand, expected successes can also fail to materialize or lead to failures and economic losses due to official regulations.

In addition, research is very time and capital intensive and there is no guarantee of success.

I will be satisfied with the share of the pharmaceutical sector in my broadly diversified ETF and, contrary to the above conclusion, start a savings plan on Novo Nordisk 🤓

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Thanks for reading and I welcome additions, corrections and opinions, but please don't be so hard on me. 😇

$MRK (-1,15 %)

Class action lawsuit against Merck & Co, Inc. This lawsuit involves investors who purchased Merck securities between February 3, 2022 and February 3, 2025. The allegation is that Merck published misleading information about the expected revenue of the HPV vaccine Gardasil. On February 4, 2025, Merck announced that the projected sales of USD 11 billion by 2030 will not be achieved and that shipments to China will be temporarily discontinued, resulting in a share price decline of over 9%.

https://securitiesclasslaw.com/securities/merck-co-inc-loss-submission-form/

Donald Trump wants to overturn US Chips Act + Lufthansa profits slump + DHL expects little earnings growth in 2025 + Merck aims for further profitable growth in 2024 after uprising + Kontron share price jumps to record high after order

Donald Trump wants to overturn US Chips Act

• Should the US government actually stop payments or cut commitments, this would affect many US companies: Although reporting is dominated by Intel $INTC (-1,2 %), Micron $MU (-0,36 %), Samsung $005930and TSMC $2330, which will receive up to 8.49 billion US dollars. But also Texas Instruments $TXN (-0,87 %), Applied Materials $AMAT (+0,65 %)and the University of Arizona will also receive money.
• In addition, a number of small companies are to receive between 200,000 and 300,000 US dollars. All projects can be found in a list maintained by Nist. In the case of Intel, the loss of subsidy commitments could exacerbate the current crisis.

Lufthansa $LHA (+2,85 %)Profit collapses

• Strikes, higher costs and lower ticket prices caused Lufthansa's profits to plummet last year.
• The core brand Lufthansa Airlines was even in the red in its day-to-day business, as the MDax-listed company announced in Frankfurt on Thursday.
• Group-wide operating profit before special items therefore slumped by over one billion to around 1.65 billion euros.
• For the current year, CEO Carsten Spohr is aiming for a "significant" improvement.
• The already announced restructuring program should contribute to this.
• Last year, Group airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Eurowings carried 131 million passengers, seven percent more than in the previous year.
• Turnover increased by six percent to 37.6 billion euros.
• Unlike the passenger division, the cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo and the maintenance division Lufthansa Technik were also able to increase their operating profit.
• The bottom line was a Group-wide surplus of just under 1.4 billion euros, 18 percent less than in the previous year.
• Nevertheless, shareholders are to receive an unchanged dividend of 30 cents per share.

DHL $DHL (-3,19 %)expects only little earnings growth in 2025

• The logistics group DHL is implementing a cost-cutting program to combat sluggish global trade and the uncertain geopolitical situation.
• This is accompanied by the reduction of 8,000 jobs in the German mail and parcel business, as the company announced in Bonn on Thursday.
• CEO Tobias Meyer sees "both shadow and light" for the Group in the US customs policy.
• Meanwhile, the Bonn-based DAX-listed company expects only a sluggish improvement in earnings in 2025, after 2024 performed somewhat better than analysts had feared.
• "We continue to expect an operating result (EBIT) of over 7 billion euros in the medium term," Group CEO Tobias Meyer told the financial news agency dpa-AFX.
• He had previously targeted earnings before interest and taxes of more than EUR 7 billion for 2026.
• Similar to Brexit, the number of shipments is expected to decline on the one hand, while on the other hand DHL is likely to gain in added value, for example because more shipments will have to be cleared through customs.
• On this basis, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are expected to increase slightly to at least EUR 6 billion in 2025.
• However, analysts surveyed by the company had estimated a median of 6.3 billion euros.
• At the same time, free cash flow is expected to remain stable at EUR 3.0 billion and thus be slightly better than expected, as in 2024.
• In 2024, the DAX-listed company earned EUR 5.9 billion in day-to-day business, a good 7 percent less than in the previous year.
• However, the operating result did not fall quite as sharply as analysts had feared.
• At 3.0 billion euros, the free cash flow was also better than experts had expected.
• DHL therefore met the targets it had set itself.
• At EUR 3.3 billion, the bottom line for shareholders in 2024 was a good 9 percent less profit than in 2023.
• The Board of Management intends to propose a stable dividend of EUR 1.85 per share at the Annual General Meeting.
• The share buyback program is to be increased by EUR 2 billion to EUR 6 billion and extended until 2026.

Merck $MRK (-1,15 %)aims to continue to grow profitably after the upswing in 2024

• After a weak previous year, day-to-day business at the pharmaceutical and technology group Merck KGaA has picked up again in 2024.
• The final quarter was above average.
• CEO Belen Garijo now wants to build on the upswing in the current year.
• "Merck is back on course for growth with all three businesses," said the manager in a statement on Thursday.
• "In 2025, we will once again grow profitably across the entire company."
• Shareholders are to receive a stable dividend of 2.20 euros for the past year.
• According to the statement, Merck is targeting sales of EUR 21.5 to 22.9 billion in the current year, which corresponds to organic growth of three to six percent.
• Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) are expected to increase organically by three to eight percent to EUR 6.1 to 6.6 billion.
• Last year, Group revenue climbed by 0.8 percent year-on-year to EUR 21.16 billion, supported by good business with medicines and semiconductor materials for artificial intelligence (AI).
• Since the second half of the year, there have also been signs of an upturn in the laboratory division, after the division had suffered from weak demand for a long time following the coronavirus boom.
• The Group also kept its costs in check.
• Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) increased by 3.3% to almost EUR 6.1 billion.
• Merck's sales and operating result were thus in line with its own targets and also more or less in line with analysts' expectations.
• Due to higher taxes, however, the Darmstadt-based company earned just under EUR 2.79 billion, around two percent less than in the previous year.

Kontron $KTN (+3,91 %)share price jumps to record high after order

• Following an order, Kontron shares reached a record high of EUR 23.34 on Wednesday.
• Most recently, the share price rose by 12.9 percent to EUR 23.18 and was one of the top positions in the small cap index SDax.
• The Austrian technology group announced a further order from the automotive industry worth 40 million euros.
• This involves the delivery of highly developed sensor technologies.
• This should at least benefit the perception of the share, commented a trader.
• On February 20, Kontron had announced an order with a total volume of 250 million US dollars over several years from a "leading supplier to the automotive industry".

Thursday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Qualcomm USD 0.85
• BHP Group AUD 0.80

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 22:00 Broadcom quarterly figures
• 22:05 Hewlett Packard Enterprise quarterly figures
• No time specified: Costco Wholesale | Universal Music Quarterly figures

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 07:00 Lufthansa | DHL Group | Merck KGaA | Siltronic | Ströer | Zalando | Aareal Annual results
• 07:30 Compugroup Medical | Prosiebensat1 | Dürr | GFT Technologies | Air France-KLM | Bouygues Annual results
• 08:00 Deutsche Beteiligungs AG | Reckitt Benckise Annual Results
• 09:00 DHL Group Analyst Conference | Aareal Bank | Zalando BI-PK | Ströer Analyst and Press Conference
• 09:30 Lufthansa BI-PK
• 10:00 Merck KGaA PK | Siltronic Analyst Conference | Dürr BI-PK
• 10:45 Zalando Analyst Conference
• 11:00 DHL Group BI-PK
• 11:30 Prosiebensat1 BI-PK
• 12:30 Lufthansa Analyst Conference
• 14:00 Merck KGaA Analyst Conference | Dürr Analyst Conference
• 18:00 Vivendi Annual Results
• No time specified: Andritz | Solvay Annual figures

• Economic data

08:00 DE: Services turnover December

11:00 EU: Retail Sales January Eurozone FORECAST: +0.1% yoy previous: -0.2% yoy

12:00 TR: Turkish Central Bank, outcome of the Monetary Policy Council meeting Key interest rate FORECAST: n/a previously: 45.00%

14:15 EU: ECB, outcome of the Governing Council meeting and staff projection for growth and inflation in the eurozone Deposit rate FORECAST: 2.50% previously: 2.75%

14:30 US: Initial jobless claims (week) FORECAST: 235,000 previously: 242,000

14:30 US: Trade Balance January FORECAST: -128.7 bn USD previously: -98.4 bn USD

14:30 US: Productivity ex Agriculture (2nd release) 4Q annualized PROGNOSE: +1.2% yoy 1st release: +1.2% yoy 3rd quarter: +2.3% yoy Unit labor costs PROGNOSE: +3.0% yoy Preliminary: 1st release: +3.0% yoy Previously: 3rd quarter: +0.5% yoy