Debt burden is moderate, so it can be affected by the economic cycle.
Metrics · D/E ~107% · Current Ratio 1.30
💲Is the price expensive now?
On the expensive side
Even accounting for growth expectations, the price is set high.
Metrics · P/E 34.5 · P/B 6.7
💡Very profitable (~37% op. margin), but ROE (18.9%) and P/E (34.6x) reflect Q1 2026 one-time acquisition charges. Debt (1.07x) and liquidity (1.30x) are fine.
Compiled from public financial data. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. · Source: stockanalysis (margins, debt, liquidity, P/B, ROE are TTM), as of 2026-07-13
Business Summary · Key Value Metrics
A large U.S. pharmaceutical company (known as MSD outside North America). Its flagship product, the immuno-oncology drug Keytruda, accounted for nearly half of 2025 revenue (about $31.7B). It also owns the HPV vaccine Gardasil and Merck Animal Health, among others. TTM revenue $65.8B with a 37.3% operating margin.
Current Price
$123.59
+0.04%+$0.05· Close 2026-07-13
Analyst Consensus Target (external reference)
$132.52
Avg. of 29 external analysts · stockanalysis (29-analyst consensus, Buy)
P/E (TTM)
34.6x
TTM · hit by Q1 one-time costs
ROE
18.9%
TTM · hit by Q1 one-time costs
Operating Margin
37.3%
TTM
Net Margin
13.6%
TTM · hit by Q1 one-time costs
Dividend Yield
2.75%
15 consecutive years
Market Cap
$305.3B
As of 2026-07-13
Economic Moat · Key Business Segments
Merck leads the global oncology market with its immuno-oncology drug Keytruda, whose 2025 revenue of about $31.7B was close to half of company-wide sales. Indications spanning more than 30 cancer types, large-scale clinical data, and global regulatory and distribution infrastructure act as barriers to entry for latecomers. Its 37.3% operating margin (TTM) is high even among big pharma (source: company IR, stockanalysis).
Keytruda Franchise
An immuno-oncology drug approved for more than 30 cancer types, with about $31.7B in 2025 revenue — close to half of company-wide sales.
Patent and Regulatory Barriers
New drug development requires enormous clinical costs and lengthy regulatory approval, making it hard for latecomers to enter.
Pipeline Defense Strategy
New formulations such as the subcutaneous Keytruda Qlex aim to defend revenue even after the 2028 patent expiry.
Business Diversification
The HPV vaccine Gardasil and Merck Animal Health partly ease its dependence on oncology.
10-Year Financial Trends
Revenue grew at a 9-year CAGR of +5.6%, but operating income (+16.5%), net income (+18.6%), and diluted EPS (+20.0%) grew far faster thanks to Keytruda's high margins and share buybacks. In 2023, however, one-time acquired-R&D charges (IPR&D) from deals such as Prometheus Biosciences cut net income to $0.4B and diluted EPS to $0.14, before recovering to $18.3B and $7.28 in 2025. The 2021 figures are on a continuing-operations basis after the June 2021 Organon spin-off, so the revenue scope differs from prior years (source: SEC EDGAR 10-K, stockanalysis).
9-Year CAGR: Revenue +5.6% · Operating Income +16.5% · Net Income +18.6% · EPS +20.0%
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL (companyfacts, CIK 0000310158), stockanalysis, company IR (8-K). Fiscal year (December year-end) GAAP basis; EPS is diluted. 2016–2020 are on a whole-company basis before the June 2021 Organon spin-off, while 2021 onward is on a continuing-operations basis after the spin-off, so the revenue and net-income scope differs. Due to data limits, P/E and ROE cover the last 5 years (stockanalysis), and P/E excludes 2023 from the table.
Mega-Cap Value Metric Comparison
Merck's 37.3% operating margin (TTM) is higher than Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ, 26.9%) but below fast-growing Eli Lilly's (LLY, 47.3%). Its P/E (TTM) of 34.6x is also above JNJ's (29.4x) but below LLY's (43.5x) (source: stockanalysis; peer report dates differ).
Metric
★ MRK
JNJ
LLY
Operating Margin
37.3%
26.9%
47.3%
P/E (TTM)
34.6x
29.4x
43.5x
JNJ and LLY figures are as of their report date (2026-06-26), about 2–3 weeks apart from MRK's (2026-07-13) · Source: stockanalysis.
Key Risk Factors (from 10-K)
●
Keytruda Patent Expiry (2028)— Keytruda, roughly half of revenue, has its U.S. composition-of-matter patent expiring in December 2028 (2031 in Europe). The subcutaneous Keytruda Qlex is a defense, but the risk of revenue erosion is significant.Source: Company 10-K Risk Factors, press reports
●
Volatility from Large Acquisition Costs— Acquisition-related R&D charges — Prometheus Biosciences (2023) and Cidara Therapeutics (Q1 2026, about $9B) — swing GAAP net income sharply as one-time items. Net income fell to $0.4B in 2023, and Q1 2026 posted a net loss.Source: SEC EDGAR 10-K, 8-K
●
Drug-Pricing Policy Risk— Key products such as Keytruda could eventually be subject to Medicare price negotiation under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Source: Company 10-K Risk Factors
●
Slowing Gardasil Demand in China— Channel-inventory adjustments for the HPV vaccine Gardasil in China cut regional sales in 2024–2025.Source: Company earnings releases
✦ ValueCrab Dashboard PreviewMRK $123.59 +0.04% · as of 2026-07-13
Q. What are Merck's (MRK) key value-investing metrics?P/E (TTM) 34.6x, ROE 18.9%, operating margin 37.3%, net margin 13.6%, dividend yield 2.75%, and a 9-year revenue CAGR of +5.6% (source: stockanalysis, as of 2026-07-13). ROE and net margin are depressed by one-time acquisition-related charges booked in Q1 2026.
Q. When does Keytruda's patent expire?The U.S. composition-of-matter patent is set to expire in December 2028, and Europe in 2031. Merck is trying to defend part of its revenue after expiry with the subcutaneous 'Keytruda Qlex.' (This is informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell.)
Q. How is it as a dividend stock?As a dividend grower that has raised its payout for 15 straight years, it currently yields about 2.75%. Note that the trailing-12-month payout ratio (93.96%) looks temporarily high because one-time charges depressed TTM net income.
Q. Who are the main competitors?Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Eli Lilly (LLY), among others. Its operating margin is higher than JNJ's but lower than fast-growing LLY's, which is riding GLP-1 drugs.