Shares outstanding are shares that have been authorized, issued, and purchased by investors and are held by them. Merck's average diluted shares outstanding for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was 2,541 Mil.
Merck Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) Historical Data
The historical data trend for Merck's Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
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 exact time point. 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.
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.
Be Aware
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.
Merck Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) Related Terms
Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Merck's Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.
Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections. Within cancer, the firm's immuno-oncology platform is growing as a major contributor to overall sales. The company also has a substantial vaccine business, with treatments to prevent pediatric diseases as well as human papillomavirus, or HPV. Additionally, Merck sells animal health-related drugs. From a geographical perspective, just under half of the company's sales are generated in the United States.
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