AZN vs LLY vs MRK Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Eli Lilly and Merck Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$174.51 +6.3% 1M +6.1% 1Y
Market cap
$270.49B
P/E
25.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
1.37%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
LLY ELI LILLY & Co
$1,373.00 +15.8% 1M +68.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.29T
P/E
44.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$86.46B
Div. yield
0.49%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
7 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$146.34 -2.0% 1M +69.0% 1Y
Market cap
$361.05B
P/E
147.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$67.38B
Div. yield
2.32%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Eli Lilly leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Eli Lilly 7, Astrazeneca 3, Merck 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNLLYMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $270.49B $1.29T $361.05B LLY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.9x 44.4x 147.4x AZN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.5x 42.4x 59.0x AZN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +45.5% +4.9% LLY
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% 31.9% — LLY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.3% 38.2% — LLY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.0x — LLY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.37% 0.49% 2.32% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.1% +68.8% +69.0% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +40.1%/yr +10.7%/yr LLY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.5% 35.3% 29.8% AZN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 72/100 61/100 LLY

Percentile Scorecard

AZNLLYMRK

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

AxisAZNLLYMRK
Valuation 85 #96 of 624 76 #151 of 624 91 #60 of 624
Growth 70 #183 of 601 97 #19 of 601 21 #478 of 601
Profitability 94 #33 of 541 98 #12 of 541 –
Financial Health 36 #415 of 647 28 #464 of 647 –
Shareholder Returns 70 #110 of 359 63 #135 of 359 71 #104 of 359
Overall 71 72 61
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • LLY ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAZNLLYMRKSPY
1 month +6.3%+15.8%-2.0% +0.7%
3 months +1.8%+18.8%+12.8% +3.7%
6 months -6.9%+46.9%+34.0% +7.1%
Year to date -5.1%+27.8%+39.0% +12.8%
1 year +6.1%+68.8%+69.0% +11.9%
3 years +38.6%+142.7%+42.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +11.5%+34.4%+12.5% +22.8%
5 years +39.9%+438.9%+66.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.9%+40.1%+10.7% +10.9%
10 years +205.1%+1,742.2%+148.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +11.8%+33.8%+9.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAZNLLYMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.5%35.3%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%30.1%24.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.210.220.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.221.952.32 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-34.8%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%0.0%-6.5% -1.2%
52-week high $209.48$1,373.00$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$813.53$82.49 $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.

MultipleAZNLLYMRK
P/E now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 17.8x 44.4xmedian 17.8x 147.4xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 9.1x 14.9xmedian 9.1x 5.4xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 15.0x 29.6xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 21.7x 65.7xmedian 21.7x 22.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.2x 32.1xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.35median 0.35 0.57median 0.35 -8.13median 0.35

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 monthsAZNLLYMRK
Revenue $58.67B $86.46B $67.38B
Gross profit $50.25B $72.31B –
Operating income $13.97B $42.95B –
Net income $10.45B $27.58B –
Free cash flow $10.67B $19.66B –
R&D $15.07B $15.38B $30.76B
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $30.87 $0.99
Cash & equivalents $4.90B $4.89B –
Total debt $32.35B $49.50B –
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 893.40M 2.47B
Enterprise value $244.25B $1.27T $361.05B

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
MetricAZNLLYMRK
P/E 25.9x 44.4x 147.4x
P/FCF 25.4x 65.7x 22.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.7x 42.1x –
P/S 4.6x 14.9x 5.4x
P/B 5.4x 32.1x –
P/Tangible book 21.4x 58.2x –
EV/EBITDA 14.7x 29.6x –
EV/EBIT 21.3x 31.1x –
EV/Revenue 5.1x 15.5x 5.4x
EV/FCF 27.9x 68.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.7x 43.6x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.35 0.57 -8.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNLLYMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 45.5% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 39.2% 4.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% 46.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 42.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.4% 67.5% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% 66.4% –
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% 49.8% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 76.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% 50.7% -87.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% 77.2% -18.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% 90.8% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% 70.2% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% 112.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% 80.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNLLYMRK
Gross margin 85.6% 83.6% –
EBITDA margin 34.6% 52.2% –
Operating margin 23.8% 49.7% –
Pretax margin 21.5% 40.2% –
Net margin 17.8% 31.9% –
FCF margin 18.2% 22.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 23.3% 35.4% –
Return on equity 21.4% 74.4% –
Return on assets 9.1% 19.0% –
Return on invested capital 23.3% 38.2% –
Return on capital employed 16.8% 43.7% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.6x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNLLYMRK
Debt / assets 27.9% 33.4% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 3.0x 2.5x –
Liabilities / assets 56.5% 72.8% –
Equity / assets 43.5% 27.2% –
Interest coverage 15.9x – –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.4x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.6x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 3.50 9.24 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNLLYMRK
Dividend yield 1.4% 0.5% 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.0% 0.5% –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 0.9% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusAZNLLYMRK
Forward P/E 17.5xFY2026 42.4xFY2026 59.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $32.40FY2026 $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 +33.8%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% +42.2% +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $85.28BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +30.8%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +17.4% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNLLYMRK
Held by institutions 52.1% 83.7% 79.9%
Institutions holding 1,497 4,629 3,798
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +1.5% +2.6%
Institutions buying 809 2,633 1,843
Institutions selling 468 1,469 1,465
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.79 1.26

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.

AZNLLYMRK
AZN 1.00 0.46 0.49
LLY 0.46 1.00 0.41
MRK 0.49 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, LLY and MRK?

Eli Lilly (LLY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $270.49B, Eli Lilly (LLY) $1.29T, Merck (MRK) $361.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, LLY and MRK?

Astrazeneca (AZN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 25.9x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 44.4x, Merck (MRK) 147.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Astrazeneca (AZN) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.5x, Eli Lilly (LLY) 42.4x, Merck (MRK) 59.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Eli Lilly (LLY) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +45.5%, Merck (MRK) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Eli Lilly (LLY) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 31.9%). On return on invested capital, Eli Lilly (LLY) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 38.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.1%, Eli Lilly (LLY) +68.8%, Merck (MRK) +69.0%. Over five years, Eli Lilly (LLY) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.9%/yr, Eli Lilly (LLY) +40.1%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Merck (MRK) has the highest dividend yield: Astrazeneca (AZN) 1.37%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 0.49%, Merck (MRK) 2.32%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Astrazeneca (AZN) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.5%, Eli Lilly (LLY) 35.3%, Merck (MRK) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZN, LLY and MRK?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Eli Lilly (LLY) leads on 7. 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.