PFE vs MRK Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Pfizer and Merck by drug pipeline, oncology and vaccine revenue, post-COVID recovery, dividend sustainability, and analyst upside.
Use this Pfizer vs Merck comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
MRK holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. MRK has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+56.19% vs -1.27%), though PFE has the better forward P/E setup (8.84x vs 13.20x for MRK). On fundamentals, PFE is growing revenue faster (5.40%), while MRK maintains the higher operating margin (38.60%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for PFE (+14.92%) than for MRK (+5.13%).
| Metric | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 40.5 | 52.9 |
| AI rank | #1111 | #339 |
| Latest close | $24.82 | $127.47 |
| 1M return | -1.04% | +10.38% |
| 6M return | -4.13% | +14.72% |
| 1Y return | -1.27% | +56.19% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.79K (-2.1%) started 2025-07-23 | $15.18K (+51.8%) started 2025-07-23 |
| 5Y ago | $8.82K (-11.8%) started 2021-07-26 | $20.81K (+108.1%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $16.39K (+63.9%) started 2016-07-25 | $40.11K (+301.1%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $142.77B | $314.9B |
| Trailing P/E | 19.12 | 36.02 |
| Forward P/E | 8.84 | 13.20 |
| Price/Sales | 2.13 | 3.10 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.08 | 5.45 |
| Analyst target | $28.79 | $134.04 |
| Target upside | +14.92% | +5.13% |
| Metric | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 5.40% | 4.90% |
| Earnings growth | -10.10% | -19.30% |
| EPS growth | -10.10% | -19.30% |
| FCF margin | +19.55% | +21.36% |
| Operating margin | 31.62% | 38.60% |
| Profit margin | 11.83% | 13.59% |
| ROIC proxy | 8.31% | 18.94% |
| Return on equity | 8.31% | 18.94% |
| Dividend yield | 6.87% | 2.67% |
| Beta | 0.31 | 0.20 |
| Debt/equity | 71.60 | 106.94 |
| Current ratio | 1.25 | 1.30 |
| Quick ratio | 0.85 | 0.70 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -2.13% | +51.79% |
| CAGR | -2.13% | +51.94% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.15 | 1.48 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.09% | 11.90% | |
| Max daily drop | 3.98% | 4.44% | |
| Max wkly drop | 9.46% | 7.12% | |
| 5Y | Growth | -28.31% | +84.80% |
| CAGR | -6.45% | +13.09% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.31 | 0.45 | |
| Max drawdown | 58.96% | 43.44% | |
| Max daily drop | 6.72% | 9.86% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.19% | 13.42% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +3.77% | +197.02% |
| CAGR | +0.37% | +11.51% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.05 | 0.39 | |
| Max drawdown | 58.96% | 43.44% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.73% | 9.86% | |
| Max wkly drop | 15.34% | 13.71% |
| Category | PFE | MRK |
|---|---|---|
| Company | PFE | MRK |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Drug Manufacturers - General | Drug Manufacturers - General |
| Core business | N/A | N/A |
| Investor focus | N/A | N/A |
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