AZN vs MRK vs PAHC Stock Comparison

Astrazeneca, Merck and Phibro Animal Health Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AZN Astrazeneca Plc
$174.51 +6.3% 1M +6.1% 1Y
Market cap
$288.69B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$58.67B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$146.34 -2.0% 1M +69.0% 1Y
Market cap
$370.60B
P/E
151.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$67.38B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Astrazeneca leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Astrazeneca 5, Phibro Animal Health 4, Merck 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZNMRKPAHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $288.69B $370.60B $1.57B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.6x 151.1x 15.8x PAHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.5x 59.0x 11.4x PAHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +4.9% +17.1% PAHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.8% — 6.6% AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 23.3% — 14.2% AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x — 2.1x AZN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.1% +69.0% -5.7% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +10.7%/yr +12.1%/yr PAHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.5% 29.8% 55.6% AZN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 61/100 68/100 AZN

Percentile Scorecard

AZNMRKPAHC

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

AxisAZNMRKPAHC
Valuation 85 #96 of 624 91 #60 of 624 92 #51 of 624
Growth 70 #183 of 601 21 #478 of 601 85 #89 of 601
Profitability 94 #33 of 541 – 85 #81 of 541
Financial Health 36 #415 of 647 – 26 #481 of 647
Shareholder Returns 70 #110 of 359 71 #104 of 359 53 #169 of 359
Overall 71 61 68
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PAHC 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

PeriodAZNMRKPAHCSPY
1 month +6.3%-2.0%+9.6% +0.7%
3 months +1.8%+12.8%+6.6% +3.7%
6 months -6.9%+34.0%-26.9% +7.1%
Year to date -5.1%+39.0%+4.0% +12.8%
1 year +6.1%+69.0%-5.7% +11.9%
3 years +38.6%+42.5%+255.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +11.5%+12.5%+52.6% +22.8%
5 years +39.9%+66.2%+77.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.9%+10.7%+12.1% +10.9%
10 years +205.1%+148.7%+49.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +11.8%+9.5%+4.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAZNMRKPAHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.5%29.8%55.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.2%24.6%60.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.210.110.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.222.32-0.10 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -27.9%-44.7%-57.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.7%-6.5%-34.8% -1.2%
52-week high $209.48$156.45$59.58 $779.14
52-week low $155.60$82.49$28.52 $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.

MultipleAZNMRKPAHC
P/E now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 17.8x 147.4xmedian 17.8x 15.8xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 9.1x 5.4xmedian 9.1x 1.0xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x 8.3xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 21.7x 22.9xmedian 21.7x 159.7xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 4.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.35median 0.35 -8.13median 0.35 0.35median 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 monthsAZNMRKPAHC
Revenue $58.67B $67.38B $1.52B
Gross profit $50.25B – $512.52M
Operating income $13.97B – $194.40M
Net income $10.45B – $99.72M
Free cash flow $10.67B – $9.87M
R&D $15.07B $30.76B –
EPS (diluted) $6.69 $0.99 $2.43
Cash & equivalents $4.90B – $61.42M
Total debt $32.35B – $2.49B
Shares (diluted) 1.56B 2.47B 40.96M
Enterprise value $262.37B $370.60B $1.25B

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
MetricAZNMRKPAHC
P/E 25.9x 147.4x 15.8x
P/FCF 25.4x 22.9x 159.7x
P/Operating cash flow 19.7x – 22.9x
P/S 4.6x 5.4x 1.0x
P/B 5.4x – 4.1x
P/Tangible book 21.4x – 4.4x
EV/EBITDA 14.7x – 8.3x
EV/EBIT 21.3x – 10.9x
EV/Revenue 5.1x 5.4x 1.4x
EV/FCF 27.9x – 213.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.7x – 30.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.35 -8.13 0.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZNMRKPAHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 4.9% 17.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 4.3% 15.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.3% – 28.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.1% – 19.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 23.4% – 76.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 23.9% – 39.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 25.9% – 106.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 19.2% – 45.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.0% -87.0% 105.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 19.2% -18.1% 44.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 2.3% – -13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% – 73.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.5% – -76.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.5% – 31.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZNMRKPAHC
Gross margin 85.6% – 33.8%
EBITDA margin 34.6% – 16.8%
Operating margin 23.8% – 12.8%
Pretax margin 21.5% – 9.0%
Net margin 17.8% – 6.6%
FCF margin 18.2% – 0.6%
Operating cash flow margin 23.3% – 4.5%
Return on equity 21.4% – 26.7%
Return on assets 9.1% – 6.8%
Return on invested capital 23.3% – 14.2%
Return on capital employed 16.8% – 16.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x – 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZNMRKPAHC
Debt / assets 27.9% – 41.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x – 2.1x
Debt / FCF 3.0x – 62.5x
Liabilities / assets 56.5% – 74.3%
Equity / assets 43.5% – 25.7%
Interest coverage 15.9x – 4.2x
Current ratio 0.9x – 3.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x – 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.50 – 3.11

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZNMRKPAHC
Dividend yield 1.4% 2.3% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 1.4% 2.3% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 19.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 197.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 0.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 0.0%

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.

ConsensusAZNMRKPAHC
Forward P/E 17.5xFY2026 59.0xFY2026 11.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $10.00FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $3.42FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +9.2%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 +6.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +6.1% +257.3% +9.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $59.02BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $1.53BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +0.5%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 +0.6%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% -3.8% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZNMRKPAHC
Held by institutions 52.1% 79.9% 51.5%
Institutions holding 1,497 3,798 209
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.8% +2.6% +3.0%
Institutions buying 809 1,843 117
Institutions selling 468 1,465 74
Buyers to sellers 1.73 1.26 1.58

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.

AZNMRKPAHC
AZN 1.00 0.50 0.19
MRK 0.50 1.00 0.22
PAHC 0.19 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZN, MRK and PAHC?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Astrazeneca (AZN) $288.69B, Merck (MRK) $370.60B, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) $1.57B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZN, MRK and PAHC?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.6x, Merck (MRK) 151.1x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 15.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) is cheapest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.5x, Merck (MRK) 59.0x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 11.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Merck (MRK) +4.9%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +17.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 6.6%). On return on invested capital, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 14.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.1%, Merck (MRK) +69.0%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) -5.7%. Over five years, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) compounded fastest (Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.9%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.7%/yr, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +12.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Astrazeneca (AZN) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.00%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 0.01%. Astrazeneca (AZN) and Merck (MRK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Astrazeneca (AZN) has been the steadiest (Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.5%, Merck (MRK) 29.8%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 55.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Astrazeneca (AZN) 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.