MERCK & CO., INC.

Growth rating is based on the evolution of the turnover of the company between the last year and the three coming years according to consensus estimates

This rating is based on the expected evolution of the annual net Earnings Per Share (EPS) according to the estimates of the analysts who cover the company. The objective is to identify companies with dynamic earnings growth.

This rating is based on the EBITDA margin in relation to the company's sales, based on past performance and analysts' estimates for the coming years. Unlike profitability (final net profitability), the EBITDA margin does not include taxes, interest and depreciation. The higher this ratio, the better the rating.

Profitability rating is based on net margin of the company for the current year and the next one according to consensus estimates

Finances rating is based on the evolution of the net debt of the company (debt or cash) and its Ebitda, compared to its revenue

Price Earnings Ratio rating compared the company’s current share price to its per-share earnings for the current fiscal year and the next one

Valuation rating is based on the ratio between enterprise value and its turnover for the current fiscal year and the next one

This rating is based on the ratio of the company's share price to its book value, based on past performance and analysts' estimates for the coming years. The lower the ratio, the better the rating.

This rating is based on the ratio between the company's share price and the free cash flow per share generated by its activities, based on the past and analysts' estimates for the coming years. The lower the ratio, the better the rating.

"Yield" rating is based on the dividend relative to its share price

Revenue revisions (one year) rating is based on the evolution of revenue revisions of the company for the current fiscal year and the next one

Revenue revisions (four months) rating is based on the evolution of revenue revisions of the company for the current fiscal year and the next one

The rating is based on the evolution of the company's revenue estimates based on historical and analysts' estimates for the coming years. In the last 7 days, the more the sales estimates have been revised upwards from a relative point of view, the better the rating.

EPS revisions (one year) rating is based on the evolution of EPS (earnings per share) revisions of the company for the current fiscal year and the next one

EPS revisions (four months) rating is based on the evolution of EPS (earnings per share) revisions of the company for the current fiscal year and the next one

Consensus rating is based on analyst recommendations

Potential rating is based on the average target price fixed by the consensus from Thomson Reuters

This rating is based on the evolution of the analysts' price target over the last 4 months. The objective is to identify the companies whose price target has changed the most. The more positive this variation is, the better the rating.

This rating is based on the evolution of the general opinion of analysts over the last 4 months. The objective is to identify the companies for which the analysts' consensus has changed the most. The more positive the change, the better the rating.

This rating is based on the evolution of the general opinion of analysts over the last 12 months. The objective is to identify the companies for which the analyst consensus has changed the most. The more positive the change, the better the rating.

This rating is based on the number of analysts present within the consensus as well as the number of numerical estimates concerning the future evolution of the company's business analysed. The more a company is followed, the better the rating.

Business Predictability rating is based on the dispersion of analysts' estimates on the evolution of the company business in the coming years (range estimates)

This rating measures the dispersion of the different opinions of the analysts who make up the consensus. The smaller the difference of opinion, the better the rating.

This rating measures the dispersion of the different price targets of the analysts who make up the consensus. The lower the target divergence, the better the rating.

Earnings quality rating is based on quality of past earnings released by the company compared to analysts' estimates

The emission reduction score measures a company’s commitment and effectiveness towards reducing environmental emissions in its production and operational processes.

The innovation score reflects a company’s capacity to reduce the environmental costs and burdens for its customers, thereby creating new market opportunities through new environmental technologies and processes, or eco-designed products.

The resource use score reflects a company’s performance and capacity to reduce the use of materials, energy or water, and to find more eco-efficient solutions by improving supply chain management.

The community score measures the company’s commitment to being a good citizen, protecting public health and respecting business ethics.

The human rights score measures a company’s effectiveness in terms of respecting fundamental human rights conventions.

The product responsibility score reflects a company’s capacity to produce quality goods and services, integrating the customer’s health and safety, integrity and data privacy.

The workforce score measures a company’s effectiveness in terms of providing job satisfaction, a healthy and safe workplace, maintaining diversity and equal opportunities and development opportunities for its workforce.

The CSR strategy score reflects a company’s practices to communicate that it integrates economic (financial), social and environmental dimensions into its day-to-day decision-making processes.

The management score measures a company’s commitment and effectiveness towards following best practice corporate governance principles.

The shareholders score measures a company’s effectiveness towards equal treatment of shareholders and the use of anti-takeover devices.

The ESG controversies score is calculated based on 23 ESG controversy topics. During the year, if a scandal occurs, the company involved is penalized and this affects their overall ESGC score and grading. The impact of the event may still be seen in the following year if there are new developments related to the negative event. For example, lawsuits, ongoing legislation disputes or fines. All new media materials are captured as the controversy progresses. The controversies score also addresses the market cap bias from which large cap companies suffer, as they attract more media attention than smaller cap companies.

Short Term Timing rating is defined according to the positioning of the last closed trading price, within the area between the short term support and resistance on the basis of technical analysis in daily data

Mid-Term Timing rating is defined according to the positioning of the last closed trading price, within the area between the mid-term support and resistance on the basis of technical analysis in daily data

Long Term Timing rating is defined according to the positioning of the last closed trading price, within the area between the long term support and resistance on the basis of technical analysis in daily data

RSI rating is based on the ranking of the security in the panel studied according to the mathematical indicator RSI 14 period

Bollinger Bands rating is based on the ranking of the security in the panel studied according to the spread of the Bollinger bands

Abnormal Volumes rating is based on the ranking of the security in the panel studied according to volume of the last session compared to an average session