MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
MRK's fundamentals are mixed, but it looks expensive: trading at 151x earnings, about seven times its usual 21x. Its downside scenario is about eight times its upside.
MRK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
MRK's cash flow is currently strong, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
MRK PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 15x | $14.38 | -90% |
| Forward | 17x | $147 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $20.03 | -86% |
| Expensive | 58x | $55.80 | -62% |
| Current | 151x | $147 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MRK's PE is in its expensive range at 151x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 17x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
MRK Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect MRK's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
MRK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.42 | +768% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.97 | -87% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.25 | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.55 | -48% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.28 | +8% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.58 | +59% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.50 | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.88 | +664% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.74 | +4714% |
MRK's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.97 over the past year, against $7.58 in late 2025.
MRK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.1B | +4.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $16.6B | +5.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.3B | +4.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $16.4B | +5% |
| Q3 2025 | $17.3B | +3.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $15.8B | -1.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $15.5B | -1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.6B | +6.8% |
MRK's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $18.1B last quarter, up 4.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 31% | -8.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | -4.1% | -36 points |
| Q1 2026 | -22% | -60 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | -5.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 39% | +15 points |
| Q2 2025 | 32% | -5.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 38% | +2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 27% | +41 points |
MRK's operating margin was 31% last quarter, down 8.3 points from the same quarter a year ago.
MRK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.5B | -19% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.5B | +77% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.9B | +150% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.8B | -27% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.8B | -20% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.5B | -48% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -47% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.5B | +$3.3B |
MRK generated $14.7B in free cash flow over the past year, up 13% from the year before.
MRK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +8M shares |
| 1 year | -0.8% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -2.7% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -2.3% | -58M shares |
| Available history | -8.4% | -226M shares |
MRK has 2.5B diluted shares, down 0.8% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $653M |
| Q2 2026 | $757M |
| Q1 2026 | $874M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $489M |
MRK spent $3.5B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 18% from the year before.
MRK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 5.1x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
MRK's net debt is about 5.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from a year a year ago.
MRK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 69.3 | Neutral |
MRK's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 69 (neutral).
MRK PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | MRK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 151x | 26x | 486% above |
| PE % | 98 | 29 | 69 pts above |
MRK is trading at 151x earnings, a 486% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
MRK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $146.6 | 0.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $141.1 | 4.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $125.2 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $105.9 | 39% above |
| 200 week MA | $109.8 | 34% above |
MRK has climbed back above all five of its weekly moving averages, and it's now 34% above its 200-week average.
MRK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $87.3 | $76.4 | -12% |
| 2021 | $76.4 | $75.7 | -0.9% |
| 2022 | $75.7 | $111.9 | +48% |
| 2023 | $111.9 | $109.0 | -2.5% |
| 2024 | $109.0 | $99.7 | -8.5% |
| 2025 | $99.7 | $106.8 | +7.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $106.8 | $147.0 | +38% |
MRK is up 38% so far in 2026, after finishing lower in four of the previous six years.