Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
Health Care · Pharmaceuticals · US stock · S&P 500 component
$147.24
▼ -2.64 (1.76%)
Fair valueOvervalued
$115 −21.9% to fair value
$57fair band $98–$139$172
Day's range
$144.07 – $154.02
52-week range
$82.01 – $156.92
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Prescription medicines, vaccines and animal health products make up the business of Merck, a global pharmaceutical company that develops, makes and markets them. Its cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil are among its major products. It also supplies medicines for diabetes, infectious disease and other conditions. Customers include wholesalers, pharmacies, hospitals, governments and veterinarians. The business is organised mainly into a pharmaceutical division and an animal health division.
Revenue of $66.6 billion over the last twelve months comes from patented medicines, vaccines and animal health products. Revenue has grown at 3.1% a year across the last three years. The operating margin is 11.6%, the business earns 6% on the capital invested in it, and net debt is 6.1 times EBITDA. The dividend yield is 2.3%. On the site's X-Ray Score it receives 33 out of 100.
Price chart
52-wk range $82.01 – $156.92Volume 19,023,561Daily, split-adjusted
Vitals
Market cap$363.7B
52-week range$82.01 – $156.92
Volume (last day)19,023,561
P/E (TTM)115.4
EBIT / EV yield1.9%
Free-cash-flow yield4.4%
Dividend yield2.3%
Revenue (TTM)$66.6B
Net income (TTM)$3.2B
Operating margin11.6%
Return on capital6.1%
Debt incl. leases$53.9B
Cash & securities$7.1B
Debt = borrowings plus lease liabilities. Cash & securities = cash, equivalents and short-term marketable securities (long-term securities are not counted, so net cash can be understated for companies that hold large long-term investments). Net debt = debt minus cash & securities. Source: latest SEC 10-Q/10-K. EBIT / EV yield = operating profit divided by market cap plus net debt.
Fair value estimate
$115middle half of models $102 – $124
Overvalued
−21.9% to fair value
Average of the 13 valuation models that pass our checks: multiples, discounted cash flow, dividend discount and earnings power value. A model more than 100% above or 60% below the price is left out as unrealistic. Model uncertainty is High, based on how far apart the models are. Undervalued or Overvalued means the gap to fair value is more than 17.5%.
Price $147
Undervalued < $98Fair $98 – $139Overvalued > $139
P/E multiple
$129
P/B multiple
$118
P/S multiple
$124
EV/EBITDA multiple
$102
EV/EBIT multiple
$84
EV/revenue multiple
$128
10-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$105
5-year DCF, EBITDA exit
$118
10-year DCF, revenue exit
$99
5-year DCF, revenue exit
$120
10-year DCF, growth exit · not used
$20
5-year DCF, growth exit · not used
$21
Dividend discount, stable
$114
Dividend discount, multi-stage
$180
Earnings power value
$72
Growth the price implies
40.5%/yr
A model estimate, not a price target or recommendation. Inputs: risk-free 5.13%, equity risk premium 4.30% (Damodaran). How it works.
What this means
Weak business, priced high
Our models put fair value below today's price, so a lot of good news may already be in the price. A high score does not guarantee a good outcome; it shifts the odds a little. Use the checklist as a prompt for your own research.
Before you invest · decision checklist
Ticked boxes are filled in from our data; the rest are yours to answer.
The five-lens scan
Every score explained in one sentence, ranked against Health Care peers. Open a lens to see the numbers behind it.
Strong: 70 to 100Fair: 50 to 69Weak: under 50No score: not enough data
Valuation
Weak
21/100
Expensive against its sector on earnings and cash flow.
See the numbers →
EBIT / EV yield1.9%
Free-cash-flow yield4.4%
Fair value vs price0.8×
Growth
Weak
33/100
Growing slower than most of its sector.
See the numbers →
Revenue growth (3y)3.1%
EPS growth (3y)8.4%
Growth consistency80%
Profitability
Weak
44/100
Earns lower returns on its capital than most peers.
See the numbers →
Return on invested capital6.1%
Operating margin11.6%
Gross profitability37.4%
Financial health
Weak
21/100
Balance sheet is more stretched than most peers.
See the numbers →
Piotroski F-Score4 / 9
Net debt / EBITDA6.1×
Interest cover4.4×
Dividends
Fair
57/100
Dividend is typical for its sector.
See the numbers →
Dividend yield2.3%
Dividends vs free cash flow52%
Dividend growth5.3%
Quarterly results: last 6 quarters
-1.6%
Mar '25
-1.9%
Jun '25
+3.7%
Sep '25
+5.0%
Dec '25
+4.9%
Mar '26
+5.1%
Jun '26
Revenue against the same quarter a year earlier. Latest quarter revenue $16.6B, diluted EPS $-0.54.
Compare with peers
ZTS Zoetis Inc.69 LLY ELI LILLY & Co62 BMY Bristol Myers Squibb C...60 JNJ Johnson & Johnson49Other Pharmaceuticals companies by X-Ray Score.
SWOT analysis: Merck & Co., Inc.
Strengthsinside the company
- No standout strength in the figures we track.
Weaknessesinside the company
- Return on invested capital of 6.1% is well below the 19.3% median of industry peers.
- Operating margin of 11.6% is thin against 27.2% for industry peers.
- Net debt is 6.1x EBITDA, above the 3x level that lenders usually watch.
Opportunitiesvaluation and setting
- Price momentum is strong on the weekly and monthly signals (trends can reverse).
Threatsvaluation and setting
- Heavy debt makes profits sensitive to interest rates and refinancing conditions.
- Trades at 114.6x earnings, 269% above the 31.0x median of industry peers, so the price already assumes better results.
- The price is 22% above our fair value estimate, so there is little room for disappointment.
- Valuation uncertainty is high: the models give widely different values, so the fair value range is wide.
Written by fixed rules from the figures on this page and the peer table below: filings, our fair value, the sector climate and the price trend. It summarises the data, it is not a forecast or advice.
Compare MRK with peers and sector
Medians of 6 Pharmaceuticals peers and of 59 Health Care stocks in our universe.
Largest peers (X-Ray Score): LLY 62, JNJ 49, PFE 31, BMY 60, ZTS 69, VTRS 25.
| Metric | MRK | Peers | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| X-Ray Score (out of 100) | 33 | 55 | 49 |
| Valuation | 21 | 55 | 55 |
| Growth | 33 | 41 | 48 |
| Profitability | 44 | 58 | 51 |
| Financial health | 21 | 52 | 48 |
| Dividends | 56 | 53 | 50 |
Sector leaders: highest X-Ray Score in Health Care
MRK ranks #53 of 60 in Health Care and #5 of 7 in Pharmaceuticals by X-Ray Score. A higher score is stronger on our five pillars; it is a ranking of facts, not a forecast.
Green means better than the peer median, red worse (only where a higher or lower figure is clearly better). A dash means too few companies report the figure. P/E, EV/EBITDA and price changes are not graded: a different level is not good or bad by itself.
Factor ratings for MRK
Each factor is rated by where MRK stands among the 60 Health Care stocks in our universe.
Rating against the sector
Goodthe top third of these stocks
Averagethe middle third of these stocks
Badthe bottom third of these stocks
"Beats" is the share of those stocks it is ahead of.
Against its own history
The last columns set today's figure against the company's own median of its last five financial years:
▲ Betterbetter than its usual level
▼ Worseworse than its usual level
≈ In linewithin its usual range
For valuation factors Good means cheaper than most of the sector and Better means cheaper than usual for this company, which is not the same as a bargain.
In total: 4 Good · 7 Average · 12 Bad of 23
Growth: 0 · 2 · 1
Profitability: 1 · 1 · 3
Financial strength: 0 · 1 · 3
Valuation: 0 · 2 · 3
Cash flow: 3 · 0 · 1
Efficiency: 0 · 1 · 1
| Factor | MRK | Rating | Sector median | Own 5-year median | Against own history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | |||||
| Revenue growth, 3 years a year | +3.1% | Average beats 36% | +5.5% | – | – |
| Revenue growth, last year | +1.3% | Bad beats 18% | +7.1% | +6.7% | ▼ Worse |
| EPS growth, 3 years a year | +8.4% | Average beats 58% | +5.0% | – | – |
| Profitability | |||||
| Gross margin | 73.0% | Good beats 79% | 65.0% | 73.2% | ≈ In line |
| Operating margin | 11.6% | Average beats 34% | 16.4% | 30.2% | ▼ Worse |
| Net margin | 4.8% | Bad beats 28% | 11.1% | 25.3% | ▼ Worse |
| Return on invested capital | 6.1% | Bad beats 24% | 12.2% | – | – |
| Return on equity | 7.6% | Bad beats 27% | 13.7% | 32.3% | ▼ Worse |
| Financial strength | |||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 6.1x | Bad beats 5% | 2.0x | 1.5x | ▼ Worse |
| Interest cover | 4.4x | Bad beats 26% | 9.4x | 16.7x | ▼ Worse |
| Current ratio | 1.32 | Average beats 38% | 1.52 | 1.36 | ≈ In line |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 / 9 | Bad beats 10% | 6 / 9 | – | – |
| Valuation | |||||
| P/E ratio | 114.6x | Bad beats 3% | 28.2x | 15.8x | ▼ Worse |
| Price / book | 8.7x | Bad beats 23% | 3.7x | 5.5x | ▼ Worse |
| Price / sales | 5.5x | Average beats 38% | 3.7x | 4.1x | ▼ Worse |
| EV / EBITDA | 53.4x | Bad beats 3% | 17.6x | 14.9x | ▼ Worse |
| Free cash flow yield | 4.4% | Average beats 49% | 4.4% | 4.9% | ≈ In line |
| Cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow margin | 24.1% | Good beats 75% | 16.3% | 21.9% | ▲ Better |
| Cash from operations / net income | 6.29 | Good beats 97% | 1.61 | 1.28 | ▲ Better |
| Free cash flow growth, 3 years a year | −5.6% | Bad beats 26% | +4.3% | – | – |
| Accruals (lower is better) | −12.9% | Good beats 94% | −3.9% | – | – |
| Efficiency | |||||
| Inventory turnover | 2.9x | Average beats 50% | 2.9x | 2.5x | ≈ In line |
| Days sales outstanding | 69 days | Bad beats 32% | 62 days | 63 days | ≈ In line |
These ratings compare companies with each other and describe the past; they are not a forecast, a recommendation or part of the X-Ray Score. A factor is left out when its data is missing or meaningless (for example a P/E on negative earnings). A dash in the history columns means fewer than three usable years.
Fundamentals checklist
● 1 Good · ● 7 Average · ● 8 BadCash quality
Earnings backed by cashGood
Free-cash-flow yieldAverage
Risk models
Altman Z''Average
Piotroski F-ScoreBad
Growth
EPS growth (3y)Average
Free-cash-flow growth (3y)Bad
Revenue growth (3y)Average
Growth consistencyBad
Balance sheet
Current ratioAverage
Net debt / EBITDABad
Interest coverBad
Valuation
Fair value vs priceBad
EBIT / EV yieldBad
Profitability
Return on invested capitalBad
Operating marginAverage
Gross profitabilityAverage
Each check is graded against the company's sector, not a fixed number. Checklist score 36/100.
Financials
| FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $48.7B | $59.3B | $60.1B | $64.2B | $65.0B |
| Operating income | $14.7B | $17.4B | $3.0B | $21.2B | $22.4B |
| Net income | $12.3B | $14.5B | $365M | $17.1B | $18.3B |
| Operating cash flow | – | $19.1B | $13.0B | $21.5B | $16.5B |
| Operating margin | 30.2% | 29.4% | 5.0% | 33.0% | 34.5% |
| Free cash flow | – | $14.7B | $9.1B | $18.1B | $12.4B |
| Diluted EPS | $5.14 | $5.71 | $0.14 | $6.74 | $7.28 |
Fiscal years, from SEC filings.
Technical summary
Daily
Strongly bullish
12 bullish · 4 neutral · 0 bearish
Weekly
Strongly bullish
11 bullish · 1 neutral · 0 bearish
Monthly
Strongly bullish
7 bullish · 0 neutral · 1 bearish
Moving averages (daily)
| SMA 10 | 146.1 | Bullish |
| EMA 10 | 146.4 | Bullish |
| SMA 20 | 145.4 | Bullish |
| EMA 20 | 145.8 | Bullish |
| SMA 50 | 146.1 | Bullish |
| EMA 50 | 143.1 | Bullish |
| SMA 100 | 134.9 | Bullish |
| EMA 100 | 136.4 | Bullish |
| SMA 200 | 124.4 | Bullish |
| EMA 200 | 125.7 | Bullish |
Oscillators (daily)
| RSI (14) | 53.10 | Neutral |
| MACD (12, 26) | 0.65 | Bullish |
| Momentum (12) | 3.73 | Bullish |
| Stochastic %K (14) | 55.45 | Neutral |
| Williams %R (14) | -44.55 | Neutral |
| CCI (20) | 87.59 | Neutral |
Pivot points (classic, last session)
S3 132.9 | S2 138.5 | S1 142.9 | Pivot 148.4 | R1 152.8 | R2 158.4 | R3 162.8 |
Signals describe what the chart is doing, not what to do. Moving averages: price above the average is bullish. Oscillators use the usual thresholds (RSI 30/70, Stochastic 20/80, CCI ±100, Williams %R −80/−20; MACD and momentum above zero are bullish). Weekly and monthly views use closing prices only.
Dividends
Paid, last 12 months
3.40 USD
Yield on today's price
2.31%
Frequency
Quarterly
Next ex-dividend date
Not announced
| Ex-dividend date | Amount per share |
|---|---|
| 0.8500 | |
| 0.8500 | |
| 0.8500 | |
| 0.8500 | |
| 0.8100 | |
| 0.8100 | |
| 0.8100 | |
| 0.8100 | |
| 0.7700 | |
| 0.7700 | |
| 0.7700 | |
| 0.7700 |
Ex-dividend dates and amounts from EODHD. Shown as declared, before tax.
ETFs that hold MRK
| ETF | Share of the fund |
|---|---|
| PPH VanEck Pharmaceutical | 9.85% |
| XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR | 5.52% |
| IYH iShares U.S. Healthcare | 5.31% |
| VHT Vanguard Health Care | 4.66% |
| FHLC Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index | 4.66% |
| IHE iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals | 4.55% |
| IXJ iShares Global Healthcare | 4.12% |
| HDV iShares Core High Dividend | 3.99% |
The eight funds with the largest weight in MRK among the ETFs we cover, from each fund's latest SEC Form N-PORT (quarter-end positions, so they can be months old). All ETFs.
MRK stock splits
MRK has split its stock 2 times since 1992. The latest was a 2-for-1 split on 17 Feb 1999.
Full MRK stock split history →MRK SEC filings
8-KSEC EDGAR
Director or officer change
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
8-KSEC EDGAR
Results of operations
8-KSEC EDGAR
Shareholder vote results
8-KSEC EDGAR
Other events
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
424B5SEC EDGAR
424B5
10-QSEC EDGAR
Quarterly report
Where the numbers come from
Statements SEC EDGAR filings (10-K, 10-Q), quarters derived from year-to-date figures.
Prices end-of-day closes, split-adjusted.
Industry inputs beta, multiples and equity risk premium from Damodaran Online (NYU Stern).
StocksXray is for education only and is not financial advice. Scores and fair values are model estimates from public filings and carry uncertainty.