Merck & Company Inc (MRK)
Healthcare
Drug Manufacturers - General
124.40 $
Closing price · As of: 20. Jul 2026
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Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 3 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Quality & Balance Sheet
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Basics
Market Cap
The value of the entire company on the market: share price times total shares outstanding.
299.2Mrd. $
Shares Outstanding
Total number of shares issued. Price times share count gives market cap.
2,470Mio.
Float
Share of stock freely tradable on the market — not locked up in the hands of founders, insiders, or major shareholders.
99.8%
Beta
Volatility versus the overall market: 1 = moves like the market, 2 = twice as much, under 1 = calmer than the market.
0.2
Performance
Perf. 1M
Price performance over the last month.
8.70%
Perf. 3M
Price performance over the last 3 months.
8.90%
Perf. 6M
Price performance over the last 6 months.
23.30%
YTD Performance (%)
Price performance since the start of the year (Year to Date).
15.30%
52-Week-High Distance
How far the price sits below its highest point over the last 52 weeks. 0% means the stock is at its year high.
-0.4%
Valuation
P/E
Price-to-earnings ratio: how many years of profit does the stock cost? The lower, the cheaper the valuation. No earnings means no P/E.
36.2
Forward P/E
P/E based on expected earnings for the next 12 months instead of past earnings — analysts' bet on the future.
25.6
PEG
P/E divided by expected earnings growth: puts valuation in relation to growth. Around 1 is considered fair, well above that is pricey.
6.4
P/B
Price-to-book ratio: market value relative to book equity.
6.9
P/S
Price-to-sales ratio: market value divided by annual sales. Important for companies that aren't (yet) profitable.
4.6
EV/EBITDA
Enterprise value including debt (EV) relative to operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — more comparable than P/E because debt counts too. Extreme values arise when EBITDA is near zero.
18.7
Price/FCF
Market value divided by free cash flow: how many years of freely available cash does the stock cost? More honest than P/E because cash flow is harder to dress up.
21.2
Profitability
Gross Margin
Gross margin: what's left of sales after only direct production costs are deducted — the product's pricing power.
76.7%
EBIT Margin
EBIT margin: operating profit as a percentage of sales — the earning power of the core business before interest and taxes.
38.6%
Net Margin
Net margin: what's left of sales as profit after ALL costs, interest, and taxes.
13.6%
Return on Equity
Return on equity: how much profit does the company generate per year on shareholders' equity?
18.9%
Return on Assets
Return on assets: how much profit the company generates from its total assets (equity and debt combined).
12.6%
Balance Sheet & Safety
Equity Ratio
Equity ratio: equity as a share of total assets. The higher, the more resilient the balance sheet.
35.7%
Debt/Equity
Leverage ratio: financial debt divided by equity. Under 1 is generally seen as solid; negative values mean negative equity.
2.0
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z
Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score: under 1.8 = danger zone, over 3 = safe. Values well above that mean a very resilient balance sheet.
6.60
Piotroski
Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag.
3 von 9
Growth
Sales Growth Last Quarter
Sales growth in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY).
4.90%
EPS Growth Last Quarter
Growth in earnings per share in the most recently reported quarter versus the same quarter a year ago (YoY).
-19.30%
Sales Growth (Year)
Sales growth in the last fiscal year versus the year before.
1.18%
Forward Sales Growth
Sales growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee.
5.30%
Forward EPS Growth
Earnings-per-share growth analysts expect over the next 12 months — an estimate, not a guarantee.
249.50%
Dividend
Dividend Yield
Annual dividend divided by the current price: what percentage of your investment comes back as a payout each year.
2.62%
Dividend Per Share (TTM)
Sum of dividends paid per share over the last 12 months.
3.36$
Payout Ratio
Share of profit paid out as dividends. Over 100% means the company is paying out more than it earns — not sustainable long-term.
72.7%
Years Without a Cut
How many years in a row the dividend hasn't been cut — a measure of reliability.
21Years
Increase Streak
How many years in a row the dividend has been raised — the gold standard for dividend payers.
15Years
Quality & Screener
Stage
Weinstein phases 1 through 4: 1 = basing, 2 = uptrend (the only buy phase), 3 = topping, 4 = downtrend. Measured against the 30-week line.
2
RS Rating
Relative strength from 1 to 99: an RS of 95 means the stock has outperformed 95% of all stocks.
71
EPS Rating
Earnings growth rating from 1 to 99 versus all stocks — high values mean above-average earnings growth.
23
Piotroski
Balance-sheet health check by Joseph Piotroski: 9 yes/no criteria on profit, cash flow, leverage, and efficiency. 7+ is very solid, under 3 is a red flag.
3 von 9
Fundamental Rating
Our own Fundamental Rating from −100 to +100 with an A+ to F grade: growth, earnings surprises, analyst estimates, margins, cash flow, and balance-sheet safety, all percentile-ranked.
C (-2 von 100)
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z
Edward Altman's bankruptcy early-warning score: under 1.8 = danger zone, over 3 = safe. Values well above that mean a very resilient balance sheet.
6.60
AI Rating
–Not yet rated — we only show a category once an SEC-backed file with at least two cited passages is available. How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 1.47 | – | 15,624 | 6.80 | 24.00 | 3,450 | 2,513 |
| 2025: Q1 | 2.01 | 6.70 | 15,619 | -1.00 | 32.50 | 2,500 | 1,172 |
| 2025: Q2 | 1.76 | -17.80 | 15,800 | -1.90 | 28.00 | 3,293 | 2,529 |
| 2025: Q3 | 2.32 | 86.40 | 17,183 | 3.20 | 33.70 | 7,822 | 6,835 |
| 2025: Q4 | 1.19 | -19.20 | 16,324 | 4.50 | 18.20 | 2,857 | 1,824 |
| 2026: Q1 | -1.72 | -185.50 | 16,286 | 4.30 | -26.00 | 3,918 | 2,927 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
About the Company
Merck & Co., Inc.
| CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.) | selling own stock |
|---|---|
| Employees | 73,000 |
| Headquarters | Rahway, NJ |
| Website | merck.com |
| IPO Date | 13. Jan 1978 |
| Next Earnings | 4. Aug 2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Robert M. Davis J.D. | Chairman, President & CEO | 1967 |
| Caroline A. Litchfield | Executive VP & CFO | 1969 |
| Jennifer L. Zachary J.D. | Executive VP & General Counsel | 1978 |
| Dean Y. Li M.D., Ph.D. | Executive VP & President of Merck Research Laboratories | 1963 |
| Dalton E. Smart III | Senior VP of Finance, Principal Accounting Officer & Global Controller | 1967 |
| David Michael Williams | Executive VP and Chief Information & Digital Officer | 1969 |
| Peter Dannenbaum | Vice President of Investor Relations | – |
| Chirfi Guindo | Executive Vice President of Strategic Access, Policy & Communications | 1966 |
| Betty D. Larson | Executive VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1976 |
| Richard R. DeLuca Jr. | Executive VP & President of Merck Animal Health | 1963 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 20, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.