MRK Merck & Co.
$146.68
▲ 1.0%Updated Oct 16, 2:25 PM ET
Report Card
MRK at a glance — five pillars scored 0–100 from real filed financials.
How the 0–100 rating is calculatedOverall: Weak · 35/100. A wider, greener shape means more pillars look healthy. Dividends scores 0 when a company pays none — that is a choice, not a flaw.
Price — Past Year
▲ Up 43.6% in the year to Jul 6, 2026
Key Metrics
Market Cap
$319.99B
P/E
40.41x
Forward P/E (est.)
57.73x
ROE
17.9%
Revenue Growth
2.9%
EPS Growth
-48.3%
Profit Margin
13.6%
FCF Yield
2.9%
Debt / Equity
0.94x
ROIC
—
Interest Coverage
—
Current Ratio
1.32x
Dividend Yield
3.0%
Implied Growth (rev. DCF)
4.9%
Rating Score
35/100
Business Overview
Merck & Co. (MRK) is a mega-cap company in the Pharmaceuticals industry, part of the Health Care sector of the S&P 500, with a market value around $319.99B.
In its latest reported year it generated about $65.01B in revenue and $18.25B in net profit.
Our model rates MRK Weak (35/100) on growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation. The summary below is built from its filed financials and current ratios and refreshes automatically.
Technical Analysis (Educational)
Technical analysis reads price and volume to judge momentum and timing. It complements the fundamentals above — it does not replace them. Here is what MRK's chart says today, with each tool explained.
Trend — moving averages. A moving average is the average closing price over a window, which smooths out daily noise. MRK trades near $146.68, above its 50-day average ($116.81) and 200-day average ($107.23). Price above both averages, with the shorter one above the longer, is the textbook definition of an uptrend — momentum favours buyers.
Momentum — RSI. The Relative Strength Index runs 0–100 and measures how strong recent gains are versus losses. Above 70 is "overbought", below 30 "oversold". At 64 it is in neutral territory — neither stretched nor washed out.
MACD. MACD compares two moving averages to flag shifts in momentum. Its histogram is currently positive — short-term momentum is improving.
Volatility — ATR. Average True Range is the typical daily move. MRK's is $3.44 (~2.3% of price), so swings of about that size each day are normal — handy for setting a stop that isn't too tight.
Support & resistance. In the month to Jul 6, 2026, MRK found buyers near $111.57 (support) and sellers near $130.29 (resistance); its 52-week range then was $76.66–$130.29. A decisive break beyond either edge often marks the next move.
Volume. The latest session traded 0.6× the 20-day average — lighter than usual, so the move carries less conviction. Rising volume on up-days suggests real buying; on down-days, real selling.
Educational information to help you read a chart — not a recommendation or a forecast. The indicators were last computed on Jul 6, 2026; the price is current.
Revenue Growth
4Y CAGR
7.5%
Revenue moved from $39.81B in 2016 to $65.01B in 2025, a 5.6% compound annual growth rate. The most recent year was roughly flat (2.9%) year over year. Slower, mature growth is common for established businesses.
Profitability
Gross Margin
78.1%
Operating Margin
18.2%
Net Margin
28.1%
ROE
17.9%
Merck & Co. keeps about 13.6% of each sales dollar as net profit, with a 78.1% gross margin and 18.2% operating margin. Return on equity is 17.9%. Margins are moderate — typical of a competitive but profitable business.
Debt Analysis
Total Debt
$18.10B
Net Debt
$11.25B
Net Debt / EBITDA
—
Debt / Equity
0.94x
Leverage: debt-to-equity is 0.9x, with a current ratio of 1.3x. That is a moderate, manageable debt load for most businesses. It carries roughly $18.10B of total debt against $6.85B of cash.
Cash Flow Analysis
Operating CF
$16.47B
Free Cash Flow
$12.36B
FCF Margin
19.0%
In the latest year Merck & Co. produced about $16.47B of operating cash flow and $12.36B of free cash flow after capital spending. That is a free-cash-flow yield of about 2.9% on today's price. Cash flow is what ultimately pays shareholders, so it is worth tracking over time.
Dividend Safety
Can the payout survive a bad year? Scored from filed cash flow, earnings coverage, and the raise/cut record.
What to look for in a dividend stockThe payout is comfortably covered by cash the business actually generates, with a raise habit behind it.
Dividend yield
3.0%
Per share (latest FY)
$3.28
Total paid (latest FY)
$8.18B
History on record
10 years
dividend uses 66% of free cash flow
45% of net income paid out
total dividends increased 9 years in a row
no cuts in the last 10 years on record
Coverage uses the latest fiscal year as filed with the SEC; the streak counts total dollars paid (per-share figures can carry split artifacts). Educational information, not income advice.
Valuation Analysis
P/E
40.41x
P/S
4.36x
P/B
6.33x
EV / EBITDA
—
MRK trades at 40.4x trailing earnings (about 57.7x on estimated forward earnings), 4.4x sales, and 6.3x book value. Reverse-engineering today's price implies the market expects roughly 4.9% long-term free-cash-flow growth. That is a rich multiple that prices in a lot of future growth.
DCF Fair Value (Educational)
A two-stage discounted cash flow on real SEC-filed free cash flow — the intrinsic-value anchor professional analysts triangulate from.
How this DCF estimate is calculatedDCF fair value / share
$80.77
Current price
$146.68
Starting FCF (latest 10-K)
$12.36B
Growth, years 1–5
2.9%
Fade to terminal, years 6–10
2.5%
Discount rate
9.0%
Cash flows grow at the stage-1 rate (trailing revenue growth, capped at 20%) for five years, fade to 2.5% by year 10, and continue at that rate forever (Gordon terminal value), all discounted at 9.0%. Small changes in assumptions move the result a lot — treat this as one reference point, not a target price. Educational only, not investment advice.
Metrics vs. Sector Range
Where MRK sits versus the Health Care companies we cover.
Bands show the middle half (25th–75th percentile) of the 83 Health Care companies in our coverage that have fundamentals data — the peer-relative anchor professional comps analysis uses. Context only — not investment advice.
Sector Peer Comparison
How MRK stacks up against its Health Care peers — valuation, profitability, and growth versus the sector median.
Among the 83 rated Health Care companies we cover, MRK ranks #69 by our overall rating. It trades at a premium versus the sector on earnings (40.4x P/E vs. 26.1x median) with a higher return on equity (17.9% vs. 14.1%) and slower revenue growth (2.9% vs. 7.6%).
P/E vs sector
40.4x
median 26.1x
ROE vs sector
17.9%
median 14.1%
Growth vs sector
2.9%
median 7.6%
Sector rank
#69
of 83 rated
Valuation vs. quality map
The sweet spot is upper-left: more profitable (higher ROE) for a lower P/E. Dashed lines mark the sector median.
Peers are the closest Health Care companies by sub-industry and size, preferring ones with full data. Sector medians and rank use the 83 rated companies among the 324 Health Care stocks we cover. Educational, not a recommendation.
5-Year Projection Model
Project revenue → earnings → price. Edit the assumptions to build your own case.
What drives this projection, and its limits2030 scenario price range (Base Case)
$232.15 – $386.92
vs. $146.68 today · implied CAGR 10% – 21%
| Metric | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $66.96B | $68.97B | $71.04B | $73.17B | $75.37B |
| Net income | $18.75B | $19.31B | $19.89B | $20.49B | $21.10B |
| EPS | $8.59 | $8.85 | $9.12 | $9.39 | $9.67 |
| Share price (low) | $206.27 | $212.45 | $218.83 | $225.39 | $232.15 |
| Share price (high) | $343.78 | $354.09 | $364.71 | $375.65 | $386.92 |
| CAGR (low–high) | 41% / 134% | 20% / 55% | 14% / 35% | 11% / 27% | 10% / 21% |
Educational scenario model, not a forecast or investment advice. It starts from the latest annual revenue in SEC filings. By default, growth is trailing revenue growth (held between 3% and 45% a year), the net margin is the latest one (held between 3% and 50%, so a loss-making company is modeled with a small profit), and the Base case P/E runs from 60% to 100% of today's. Carrying recent growth forward five years can miss badly in either direction. Outputs are only as good as the assumptions.
Bull Case
The case for MRK:
- Strong return on equity (17.9%) shows capital is put to work well.
- Pays a 3.0% dividend on top of any price gains.
Bear Case
The case against MRK:
- Revenue growth is slow (2.9%), limiting the upside engine.
- A rich 40.4x earnings multiple prices in a lot of growth.
- Our model's overall read is Weak (35/100).
Key Risks
Valuation risk — at 40.4x earnings, disappointing results could compress the multiple.
Growth risk — sluggish revenue (2.9%) leaves little margin for execution missteps.
Market risk — sector rotation, the economic cycle, and broad sentiment move the stock regardless of fundamentals.
Investment Thesis
On balance, the fundamentals screen weakly: Merck & Co. is a mega-cap health care business growing at a mature pace, with solid profitability, and a heavier debt load to watch. It trades at 40.4x earnings, which our model scores Weak (35/100). Weigh this against your own goals and time horizon — this is educational information, not a recommendation.
Analyst Ratings
What 36 Wall Street analysts covering MRK recommend (September 2026). Consensus is a useful sanity check — not a substitute for your own homework.
Analysts have turned more positive over the last three months (+3 pts of buy ratings).
Latest SEC Filings
MRK's most recent filings, straight from SEC EDGAR. Annual and quarterly reports are the deep dives; 8-Ks flag material events the moment they happen. How to read a 10-K
In the Idea Lab
MRK — frequently asked questions
Is MRK a good stock to buy?
We don't give buy or sell advice. Our model rates Merck & Co. Weak (35/100) based on its growth, profitability, financial health, and valuation — use that as a research starting point and make your own decision.
What is MRK's rating on The Stocks School?
Merck & Co. currently scores 35/100 (Weak) on our transparent model, which weighs real fundamentals: growth, margins, returns on capital, balance-sheet strength, and valuation.
How our ratings work →Where does MRK's data come from?
Live price data plus real fundamentals and 5-year financials pulled directly from Merck & Co.'s SEC filings — refreshed automatically, not hand-entered.
How is the 5-year projection for MRK calculated?
It's a scenario model. It starts from the latest annual revenue and net margin in SEC filings, grows revenue at an assumed rate (trailing revenue growth by default), and applies a P/E range built around today's multiple to show the resulting share-price range. When a stock has no growth or P/E data, the starting values are placeholders. It's a tool for thinking, not a prediction.
Is this MRK analysis financial advice?
No. Everything on this page is educational research, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell MRK. Always do your own research and consider a licensed professional.
Data notice. Fundamentals and financial statements are sourced from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and market-data providers; prices and market caps refresh on trading days and may be delayed. Ratings, projections, technical signals, and written summaries are model- or rule-generated for education and may simplify or lag the latest filings.
Not advice. Nothing on this page is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial professional before investing.