Merck vs Pfizer
MRK and PFE side by side, both in drugs. Figures are trailing twelve months unless noted, from SEC filings and end-of-day prices.
How MRK and PFE compare
Merck is the larger company, worth 2.2 times as much as Pfizer ($363B against $164B).
On earnings, Pfizer is cheaper: it trades at 41.2× trailing earnings, against 151× for Merck.
Merck grew revenue faster over the last twelve months (4.9% versus 1.3% for Pfizer).
Pfizer keeps more of each dollar of sales as profit, with a net margin of 6.3% compared with 3.6% at Merck.
Both pay dividends: Merck yields 2.3% and Pfizer 4.5%.
Merck scores higher on the StockData Score (10 against 8 for Pfizer), 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 | MRK | PFE |
|---|---|---|
| Size and price | ||
| Market cap | $363B | $164B |
| Share price | $146.95 | $28.83 |
| Change, 1 year | 61.6% | 13.0% |
| Change, 5 years | 82.1% | −43.2% |
| Beta (5Y) | 0.22 | 0.44 |
| Employees | 75K | 75K |
| StockData Score | ||
| Total score | 10 (better) | 8 |
| Valuation score | 0 | 1 (better) |
| Growth score | 0 | 0 |
| Performance score | 3 (better) | 2 |
| Health score | 4 (better) | 2 |
| Dividend score | 3 | 3 |
| Valuation | ||
| P/E | 151× | 41.2× (better) |
| P/S | 5.4× | 2.6× (better) |
| P/B | 8.1× | 1.8× (better) |
| EV/EBITDA | – | 16.1× |
| P/FCF | 24.6× | 13.9× (better) |
| PEG | 17.96 | – |
| FCF yield | 4.1% | 7.2% (better) |
| Fair value | $71.32 | $20.06 |
| Margin of safety | −106% | −43.7% (better) |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth (TTM) | 4.9% (better) | 1.3% |
| Revenue growth, 5Y average | 9.4% (better) | 8.5% |
| Net income growth (TTM) | −87.1% | −59.0% (better) |
| EPS growth (TTM) | −87.2% | −59.3% (better) |
| EPS growth, 5Y average | 21.2% (better) | −3.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 71.8% | 73.4% (better) |
| Net margin | 3.6% | 6.3% (better) |
| FCF margin | 21.9% (better) | 18.5% |
| Return on equity | 5.1% (better) | 4.4% |
| Financial health | ||
| Debt / equity | 1.20 | 0.70 (better) |
| Net debt / EBITDA | – | 3.84 |
| Current ratio | 1.35 | 1.42 (better) |
| Altman Z-score | 3.77 (better) | 2.03 |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 6 (better) |
| Dividends and buybacks | ||
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | 4.5% (better) |
| Payout ratio | 341% | – |
| Years of dividend growth | 15 | 15 |
| Dividend growth, 5Y average | 5.8% (better) | 2.4% |
| Buyback yield | 0.98% | – |
| Shareholder yield | 3.3% | 4.5% (better) |
| Ownership | ||
| Held by institutions | 80.3% | 67.2% |
| Held by insiders | 0.05% | 0.03% |
| Insider net buying, 12 months | −$70.7M | $2.8M (better) |
| Superinvestors holding | 4 (better) | 2 |
| Short interest, % of float | 1.1% | 2.4% |
Go deeper
- MRK stock overview
- MRK income statement
- MRK valuation and score
- PFE stock overview
- PFE income statement
- PFE valuation and score
Other comparisons
For information only, not investment advice. Check the source filings before relying on any figure.