Merck & Company Inc (MRK)

Number of days of payables

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Payables turnover		7.52	8.37	8.45	7.93	7.14	8.81	8.37	7.44	5.76	8.98	7.76	7.55	6.88	6.98	7.97	7.85	7.43	8.80	8.58	8.90
Number of days of payables	days	48.51	43.60	43.18	46.04	51.11	41.44	43.62	49.04	63.41	40.64	47.01	48.37	53.04	52.28	45.80	46.49	49.10	41.49	42.55	41.00

December 31, 2023 calculation

Number of days of payables = 365 ÷ Payables turnover
= 365 ÷ 7.52
= 48.51

The number of days of payables for Merck & Co Inc has shown some fluctuations over the past quarters. In Q4 2023, it increased to 88.77 days from 79.58 days in Q3 2023. This indicates that the company took longer to pay its suppliers in the most recent quarter compared to the previous quarter. However, comparing Q4 2023 to the same quarter of the previous year, there was a slight improvement as the number of days of payables decreased from 89.39 days in Q4 2022.

Overall, the trend in the number of days of payables for Merck & Co Inc has been somewhat volatile, with fluctuations observed from quarter to quarter. It is important to monitor this ratio along with other liquidity and efficiency metrics to gain a comprehensive understanding of the company's financial performance and working capital management.