Merck & Co.'s third-quarter profit topped analysts' estimates, helped by better-than expected sales of the vaccine Gardasil and the antibiotic Cubicin.
Earnings excluding some items were $1.07 a share, the company said in a statement, compared with the 99-cent average of predictions compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue gained 4.6 percent to $10.5 billion, topping analysts' estimates of $10.2 billion.