Discontinued — last reported Q3 '17
Current Assets
Inventory LIFO Reserve
Merck & Co. Inventory LIFO Reserve increased by 387.0% to $4.30B in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 26.5%, from $3.40B to $4.30B. Over 5 years (FY 2020 to FY 2025), Inventory LIFO Reserve shows an upward trend with a 8.2% CAGR.
Analysis
StatementBalance Sheet Statement
SectionCurrent Assets
CategoryEfficiency
SignalContext dependent
VolatilityStable
First reportedQ3 2015
Last reportedQ3 2017
How to read this metric
An increasing reserve indicates rising inventory costs over time, while a decrease may suggest inventory liquidation or falling costs.
Detailed definition
The LIFO reserve represents the cumulative difference between the cost of inventory calculated under the Last-In, First-...
Peer comparison
Common among US-based industrial and energy firms; peers using FIFO will have a zero reserve.
Metric ID:
inventory_lifo_reserveHistorical Data
19 periods
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | -$4.00M | -$23.00M | $3.30B | $77.00M | $140.00M | $187.00M | $3.40B | $350.00M | $413.00M | $469.00M | $3.10B | $621.00M | $687.00M | $762.00M | $3.40B | $846.00M | $859.00M | $883.00M | $4.30B |
| QoQ Change | — | -475.0% | >999% | -97.7% | +81.8% | +33.6% | >999% | -89.7% | +18.0% | +13.6% | +561.0% | -80.0% | +10.6% | +10.9% | +346.2% | -75.1% | +1.5% | +2.8% | +387.0% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | >999% | +913.0% | +3.0% | +354.5% | +195.0% | +150.8% | -8.8% | +77.4% | +66.3% | +62.5% | +9.7% | +36.2% | +25.0% | +15.9% | +26.5% |
Range-$23.00M – $4.30B
CAGR+371.7%
Avg YoY Growth+368.5%
Median YoY Growth+62.5%
Current Streak3 quarters growth
Inventory LIFO Reserve at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Merck & Co.'s inventory lifo reserve?
- Merck & Co. (MRK) reported inventory lifo reserve of $4.30B in Q4 2025.
- How has Merck & Co.'s inventory lifo reserve changed year-over-year?
- Merck & Co.'s inventory lifo reserve increased by 26.5% year-over-year, from $3.40B to $4.30B.
- What is the long-term trend for Merck & Co.'s inventory lifo reserve?
- Over 5 years (2020 to 2025), Merck & Co.'s inventory lifo reserve has grown at a 8.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $2.90B to $4.30B.
- What does inventory lifo reserve mean?
- The difference between inventory value under LIFO accounting versus FIFO or average cost methods.