AUPH vs MRK vs PFE Stock Comparison

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Pfizer Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$140.60 -5.5% 1M +60.7% 1Y
Market cap
$350.25B
P/E
110.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
PFE Pfizer Inc
$29.79 +3.9% 1M +20.3% 1Y
Market cap
$169.97B
P/E
39.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.70B
Div. yield
0.06%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Pfizer leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Pfizer 5, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals 4, Merck 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAUPHMRKPFELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.25B $350.25B $169.97B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 7.1x 110.4x 39.2x AUPH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.8x 56.7x 10.5x PFE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.8% +4.6% -0.2% AUPH
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 100.8% 4.8% 6.8% AUPH
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.6% 13.4% PFE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.6x 1.9x PFE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.06% PFE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +43.3% +60.7% +20.3% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -10.7%/yr +11.5%/yr -7.1%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.3% 29.7% 21.7% PFE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 90/100 62/100 65/100 AUPH

Percentile Scorecard

AUPHMRKPFE

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAUPHMRKPFE
Valuation 93 #46 of 626 80 #129 of 626 94 #37 of 626
Growth 97 #22 of 604 36 #387 of 604 23 #466 of 604
Profitability 97 #17 of 555 90 #54 of 555 92 #46 of 555
Financial Health 74 #173 of 658 20 #528 of 658 24 #502 of 658
Shareholder Returns 92 #30 of 368 83 #62 of 368 91 #35 of 368
Overall 90 62 65
  • AUPH ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PFE ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAUPHMRKPFESPY
1 month +3.6%-5.5%+3.9% -0.8%
3 months +12.0%+7.5%+20.8% +3.5%
6 months +4.1%+27.6%+11.2% +7.0%
Year to date +6.8%+33.6%+19.6% +12.2%
1 year +43.3%+60.7%+20.3% +13.0%
3 years +137.0%+36.7%-1.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +33.4%+11.0%-0.4% +23.1%
5 years -43.0%+72.4%-30.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -10.7%+11.5%-7.1% +11.0%
10 years +410.2%+131.0%-8.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +17.7%+8.7%-0.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAUPHMRKPFESPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.3%29.7%21.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.0%24.6%21.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.540.120.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.162.050.94 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -87.6%-44.7%-64.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.5%-10.1%-2.0% -1.8%
52-week high $18.62$156.45$30.41 $779.14
52-week low $12.12$82.49$23.67 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAUPHMRKPFE
P/E now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 17.1x 109.4xmedian 17.1x 39.2xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 8.8x 5.2xmedian 8.8x 2.7xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 17.1x 30.1xmedian 17.1x 8.2xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 18.0x 21.6xmedian 18.0x 15.5xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.1x 8.3xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.08median 0.31 68.89median 0.31 -0.95median 0.31

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAUPHMRKPFE
Revenue $311.51M $66.57B $63.70B
Gross profit $281.47M $48.57B $46.61B
Operating income $150.75M $6.38B $20.39B
Net income $314.11M $3.17B $4.36B
Free cash flow $175.07M $16.06B $10.99B
R&D $39.85M $30.45B $11.05B
EPS (diluted) $2.35 $1.28 $0.76
Cash & equivalents $179.83M $6.85B $976.00M
Total debt – $53.91B $63.19B
Shares (diluted) 133.53M 2.47B 5.70B
Enterprise value $674.14M $304.62B $116.62B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAUPHMRKPFE
P/E 7.1x 109.4x 39.2x
P/FCF 12.9x 21.6x 15.5x
P/Operating cash flow 12.9x 17.4x 12.7x
P/S 7.3x 5.2x 2.7x
P/B 3.7x 8.3x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 20.4x 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 10.7x 30.1x 8.2x
EV/EBIT 12.1x 61.7x 10.9x
EV/Revenue 5.8x 5.9x 3.5x
EV/FCF 10.4x 24.5x 20.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.4x 19.7x 16.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.08 68.89 -0.95

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAUPHMRKPFE
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.8% 4.6% -0.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 24.8% 4.5% -7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 20.9% -0.3% 1.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 22.2% 4.5% -5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 189.8% -66.6% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 56.2% 1.9% -9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 418.0% -80.7% -59.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 84.9% 0.5% -41.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 433.5% -80.3% -59.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 87.7% 1.6% -41.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 89.1% 7.7% -11.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 86.1% 9.8% -2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 89.4% 9.1% -11.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 85.3% 14.0% 1.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAUPHMRKPFE
Gross margin 90.4% 73.0% 73.2%
EBITDA margin 54.6% 19.7% 42.4%
Operating margin 48.4% 9.6% 32.0%
Pretax margin 51.5% 8.9% 6.6%
Net margin 100.8% 4.8% 6.8%
FCF margin 56.2% 24.1% 17.2%
Operating cash flow margin 56.3% 30.0% 21.0%
Return on equity 53.1% 7.2% 5.0%
Return on assets 41.4% 2.5% 2.1%
Return on invested capital – 3.6% 13.4%
Return on capital employed 22.9% 6.3% 11.9%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 6.3x 3.1x
Stock comp / revenue 4.7% 1.3% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAUPHMRKPFE
Debt / assets – 41.5% 31.4%
Debt / equity – 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.6x 1.9x
Debt / FCF – 3.4x 5.8x
Liabilities / assets 22.4% 67.7% 57.5%
Equity / assets 77.6% 32.3% 42.5%
Interest coverage 36.7x – –
Current ratio 5.4x 1.3x 1.3x
Quick ratio 4.8x 0.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 4.4x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 8.33 3.81 2.36

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAUPHMRKPFE
Dividend yield – 2.4% 5.8%
Net buyback yield 0.9% 1.1% –
Shareholder yield 0.9% 3.6% 5.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 261.8% 224.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 51.7% 89.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.3% 1.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 2.4%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAUPHMRKPFE
Forward P/E 17.8xFY2026 56.7xFY2026 10.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.96FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $2.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -53.6%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.6% +257.3% -4.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $348.13MFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $60.59BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.0%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 -3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.9% -3.8% +3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAUPHMRKPFE
Held by institutions 58.7% 79.9% 66.9%
Institutions holding 280 3,794 2,835
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +2.6% +2.0%
Institutions buying 156 1,840 1,324
Institutions selling 78 1,464 1,204
Buyers to sellers 2.00 1.26 1.10

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AUPHMRKPFE
AUPH 1.00 0.20 0.13
MRK 0.20 1.00 0.44
PFE 0.13 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AUPH, MRK and PFE?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) $2.25B, Merck (MRK) $350.25B, Pfizer (PFE) $169.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, AUPH, MRK and PFE?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 7.1x, Merck (MRK) 110.4x, Pfizer (PFE) 39.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pfizer (PFE) is cheapest (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 17.8x, Merck (MRK) 56.7x, Pfizer (PFE) 10.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) +19.8%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Pfizer (PFE) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) has the highest net margin (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 100.8%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Pfizer (PFE) 6.8%). On return on invested capital, Pfizer (PFE) leads (Merck (MRK) 3.6%, Pfizer (PFE) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) +43.3%, Merck (MRK) +60.7%, Pfizer (PFE) +20.3%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) -10.7%/yr, Merck (MRK) +11.5%/yr, Pfizer (PFE) -7.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Pfizer (PFE) has the highest dividend yield: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Pfizer (PFE) 0.06%. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Pfizer (PFE) has been the steadiest (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 37.3%, Merck (MRK) 29.7%, Pfizer (PFE) 21.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AUPH, MRK and PFE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Pfizer (PFE) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.