Johnson & Johnson vs Merck
JNJ and MRK side by side, both in drugs. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How JNJ and MRK compare
Johnson & Johnson is the larger company, worth 1.8 times as much as Merck ($658B against $361B).
On earnings, Johnson & Johnson is cheaper: it trades at 31.7× trailing earnings, against 117× for Merck.
Johnson & Johnson grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (8.1% versus 4.6% for Merck).
Johnson & Johnson keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 21.5% compared with 4.8% at Merck.
Both pay dividends: Johnson & Johnson yields 1.9% and Merck 2.3%.
Johnson & Johnson scores higher on the StockData Score (12 against 9 for Merck), which adds up 30 checks on valuation, growth, past performance, financial health and dividends.
Key numbers
A dot marks the better figure where higher or lower is clearly better.
| Metric | JNJ | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $658B | $361B |
| Share price | $273.20 | $146.33 |
| Change, 1 year | 46.4% | 68.1% |
| Change, 5 years | 67.2% | 79.3% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.20 | 0.22 |
| Employees | 138K | 75K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 12 (better) | 9 |
| Valuation score | 0 | 0 |
| Growth score | 3 (better) | 0 |
| Performance score | 4 (better) | 3 |
| Health score | 3 | 3 |
| Dividend score | 2 | 3 (better) |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 31.7× (better) | 117× |
| P/S | 6.7× | 5.4× (better) |
| P/B | 7.7× (better) | 8.6× |
| EV/EBITDA | 20.2× | – |
| P/FCF | 29.6× | 22.5× (better) |
| PEG | 1.77 (better) | 13.88 |
| FCF yield | 3.4% | 4.4% (better) |
| Fair value | $190.51 | $42.82 |
| Margin of safety | −43.4% (better) | −242% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 8.1% (better) | 4.6% |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 2.7% | 9.4% (better) |
| Net income growth (TTM) | −7.2% (better) | −80.7% |
| EPS growth (TTM) | −7.8% (better) | −80.7% |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 14.9% | 21.2% (better) |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 67.9% | 73.0% (better) |
| Net margin | 21.5% (better) | 4.8% |
| FCF margin | 22.7% | 24.1% (better) |
| Return on equity | 25.7% (better) | 7.0% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 0.58 (better) | 1.29 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.83 | – |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 1.32 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 5.11 (better) | 3.74 |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 4 |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 1.9% | 2.3% (better) |
| Payout ratio | – | 262% |
| Years of dividend growth | 16 (better) | 15 |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | 5.2% | 5.8% (better) |
| Buyback yield | 1.2% (better) | 1.2% |
| Shareholder yield | 3.2% | 3.5% (better) |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 74.7% | 80.3% |
| Held by insiders | 0.04% | 0.05% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$150M | −$72.0M (better) |
| Superinvestors holding | 6 (better) | 4 |
| Short interest, % of float | 0.92% | 1.1% |
Go deeper
- JNJ stock overview
- JNJ income statement
- JNJ valuation and score
- MRK stock overview
- MRK income statement
- MRK valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.