BMY vs MRK Stock Comparison

Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BMY Bristol Myers Squibb Co
$61.61 -2.0% 1M +40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$125.85B
P/E
13.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$49.19B
Div. yield
4.09%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$140.60 -5.5% 1M +60.7% 1Y
Market cap
$346.88B
P/E
109.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
2.42%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Merck leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Merck 6, Bristol Myers Squibb 6). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBMYMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $125.85B $346.88B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.6x 109.4x BMY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.3x 56.5x BMY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.1% +4.6% MRK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 18.9% 4.8% BMY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -3.3% 3.6% MRK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 78.9x 3.6x MRK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.09% 2.42% BMY
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +40.6% +60.7% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.8%/yr +11.5%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 28.4% 29.7% BMY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 62/100 BMY

Percentile Scorecard

BMYMRK

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

AxisBMYMRK
Valuation 86 #90 of 626 80 #129 of 626
Growth 52 #291 of 604 36 #387 of 604
Profitability 87 #75 of 555 90 #54 of 555
Financial Health 16 #552 of 658 20 #528 of 658
Shareholder Returns 88 #45 of 368 83 #62 of 368
Overall 66 62
  • BMY ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK 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

PeriodBMYMRKSPY
1 month -2.0%-5.5% -0.8%
3 months -1.5%+7.5% +3.5%
6 months +6.6%+27.6% +7.0%
Year to date +14.2%+33.6% +12.2%
1 year +40.6%+60.7% +13.0%
3 years +20.8%+36.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +6.5%+11.0% +23.1%
5 years +9.1%+72.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +1.8%+11.5% +11.0%
10 years +25.0%+131.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.3%+8.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBMYMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 28.4%29.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.6%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.200.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.432.05 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.1%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.5%-10.1% -1.8%
52-week high $68.09$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $42.60$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.

MultipleBMYMRK
P/E now vs peer median 13.6xmedian 17.1x 109.4xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 8.8x 5.2xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 388.9xmedian 17.1x 30.1xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 18.0x 21.6xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.1x 8.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.20median 0.31 68.89median 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 monthsBMYMRK
Revenue $49.19B $66.57B
Gross profit $34.51B $48.57B
Operating income -$2.77B $6.38B
Net income $9.28B $3.17B
Free cash flow $11.44B $16.06B
R&D $10.72B $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $4.53 $1.28
Cash & equivalents $8.72B $6.85B
Total debt $43.12B $53.91B
Shares (diluted) 2.05B 2.47B
Enterprise value $77.12B $301.31B

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
MetricBMYMRK
P/E 13.6x 109.4x
P/FCF 11.0x 21.6x
P/Operating cash flow 9.8x 17.4x
P/S 2.6x 5.2x
P/B 5.6x 8.3x
P/Tangible book 25.5x 20.4x
EV/EBITDA 388.9x 30.1x
EV/EBIT -57.0x 61.7x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 5.9x
EV/FCF 13.8x 24.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 12.4x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.20 68.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBMYMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.1% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 2.9% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 63.5% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -17.9% 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 83.3% -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 82.9% -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -19.6% 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.6% 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -21.5% 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.2% 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBMYMRK
Gross margin 70.2% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 0.8% 19.7%
Operating margin -5.6% 9.6%
Pretax margin 24.2% 8.9%
Net margin 18.9% 4.8%
FCF margin 23.3% 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin 26.0% 30.0%
Return on equity 43.7% 7.2%
Return on assets 10.7% 2.5%
Return on invested capital -3.3% 3.6%
Return on capital employed -4.0% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBMYMRK
Debt / assets 49.2% 41.5%
Debt / equity 1.9x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 78.9x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 74.5% 67.7%
Equity / assets 25.5% 32.3%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.07 3.81

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBMYMRK
Dividend yield 4.1% 2.4%
Net buyback yield – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 261.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 51.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.7%

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.

ConsensusBMYMRK
Forward P/E 9.3xFY2026 56.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.62FY2026 $2.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +7.6%FY2026 -72.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.5% +256.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $52.09BFY2026 $69.44BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.1%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -9.2% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBMYMRK
Held by institutions 81.8% 79.9%
Institutions holding 2,519 3,794
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +2.6%
Institutions buying 1,185 1,840
Institutions selling 986 1,464
Buyers to sellers 1.20 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.

BMYMRK
BMY 1.00 0.45
MRK 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BMY and MRK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) $125.85B, Merck (MRK) $346.88B.

Which stock is cheaper, BMY and MRK?

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 13.6x, Merck (MRK) 109.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) is cheapest (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 9.3x, Merck (MRK) 56.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Merck (MRK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) +3.1%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) has the highest net margin (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 18.9%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Merck (MRK) leads (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) -3.3%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) +40.6%, Merck (MRK) +60.7%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) +1.8%/yr, Merck (MRK) +11.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) has the highest dividend yield: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 4.09%, Merck (MRK) 2.42%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) has been the steadiest (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 28.4%, Merck (MRK) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do BMY and MRK move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.45, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, BMY 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, Merck (MRK) leads on 6. 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.