ELAN vs ICCC vs MRK Stock Comparison

Elanco Animal Health, Immucell and Merck Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ICCC Immucell Corp /De/
$10.26 +3.8% 1M +64.4% 1Y
Market cap
$96.49M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$26.76M
Div. yield
–
Animal Health Healthcare
4 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.84 -4.7% 1M +61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$347.85B
P/E
109.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionELANICCCMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.34B $96.49M $347.85B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -57.0x -147.9x 109.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.8x — 57.2x ELAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% -5.3% +4.6% ELAN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% -2.4% 4.8% MRK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.1% 6.5% 3.6% ICCC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -0.1x 3.6x ICCC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.8% +64.4% +61.2% ICCC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.2%/yr +2.9%/yr +10.4%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.3% 50.4% 29.6% MRK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 73/100 62/100 ICCC

Percentile Scorecard

ELANICCCMRK

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

AxisELANICCCMRK
Valuation 94 #39 of 625 87 #82 of 625 80 #124 of 625
Growth 56 #264 of 602 65 #209 of 602 36 #384 of 602
Profitability 84 #92 of 551 83 #94 of 551 91 #53 of 551
Financial Health 33 #442 of 656 58 #278 of 656 20 #526 of 656
Shareholder Returns – – 82 #68 of 365
Overall 67 73 62
  • ELAN ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ICCC ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodELANICCCMRKSPY
1 month +1.5%+3.8%-4.7% -0.2%
3 months -11.2%-8.7%+7.6% +3.9%
6 months +2.3%+22.9%+28.9% +8.2%
Year to date +0.1%+66.8%+34.8% +12.9%
1 year +1.8%+64.4%+61.2% +12.3%
3 years +156.0%+115.5%+37.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +36.8%+29.2%+11.3% +23.3%
5 years -31.1%+15.3%+63.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -7.2%+2.9%+10.4% +10.9%
10 years —+82.2%+131.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+6.2%+8.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureELANICCCMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.3%50.4%29.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.8%47.4%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.300.390.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.041.282.07 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.3%-67.0%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.6%-12.5%-9.3% -1.2%
52-week high $26.84$11.72$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $19.80$4.56$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.

MultipleELANICCCMRK
P/E now vs peer median -56.9xmedian 17.2x -142.6xmedian 17.2x 110.4xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 9.0x 3.5xmedian 9.0x 5.3xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 16.3x 18.2xmedian 16.3x 30.3xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.9xmedian 18.7x —median 18.7x 21.8xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 2.2x 8.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.89median 0.33 -2.59median 0.33 69.50median 0.33

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 monthsELANICCCMRK
Revenue $5.02B $26.76M $66.57B
Gross profit $2.78B $10.53M $48.57B
Operating income $637.00M $2.47M $6.38B
Net income -$199.00M -$652.35K $3.17B
Free cash flow $379.00M – $16.06B
R&D $371.00M $2.40M $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $-0.39 $-0.07 $1.28
Cash & equivalents $530.00M $8.86M $6.85B
Total debt $3.92B $8.30M $53.91B
Shares (diluted) 505.90M 9.19M 2.47B
Enterprise value $9.33B $73.94M $302.23B

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
MetricELANICCCMRK
P/E -56.9x -142.6x 110.4x
P/FCF 29.9x – 21.8x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x – 17.5x
P/S 2.3x 3.5x 5.3x
P/B 1.7x 3.0x 8.3x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 3.0x 20.6x
EV/EBITDA 11.1x 18.2x 30.3x
EV/EBIT 23.1x 37.6x 62.2x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 3.5x 6.0x
EV/FCF 38.8x – 24.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.8x – 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.89 -2.59 69.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricELANICCCMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% -5.3% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 19.5% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.2% -0.6% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 36.0% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.0% 42.3% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 59.8% 34.3% 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -145.9% -137.0% -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -20.8% 52.3% 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -145.3% -136.4% -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.7% 55.0% 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.9% – 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 73.6% – 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.0% – 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 101.8% – 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricELANICCCMRK
Gross margin 55.4% 39.3% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 26.5% 19.0% 19.7%
Operating margin 12.7% 9.2% 9.6%
Pretax margin -3.3% -2.2% 8.9%
Net margin -4.0% -2.4% 4.8%
FCF margin 7.5% – 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% – 30.0%
Return on equity -3.0% -2.2% 7.2%
Return on assets -1.5% -1.5% 2.5%
Return on invested capital 6.1% 6.5% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 5.5% 6.1% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -3.1x – 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.8% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricELANICCCMRK
Debt / assets 28.9% 17.8% 41.5%
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.3x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -0.1x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 10.3x – 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 32.7% 67.7%
Equity / assets 48.6% 67.3% 32.3%
Interest coverage 2.6x 5.3x –
Current ratio 2.1x 4.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.9x 2.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.46 4.50 3.83

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricELANICCCMRK
Dividend yield – – 2.4%
Net buyback yield – – 1.1%
Shareholder yield – – 3.5%
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.

ConsensusELANICCCMRK
Forward P/E 20.8xFY2026 – 57.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.09FY2026 – $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.0%FY2026 – -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.9% – +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.79BFY2026 – $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.6%FY2026 – +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.7% – -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersELANICCCMRK
Held by institutions 100.0% 15.0% 79.9%
Institutions holding 523 32 3,796
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% -2.6% +2.6%
Institutions buying 246 15 1,842
Institutions selling 209 7 1,464
Buyers to sellers 1.18 2.14 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.

ELANICCCMRK
ELAN 1.00 -0.03 0.21
ICCC -0.03 1.00 0.02
MRK 0.21 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ELAN, ICCC and MRK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) $11.34B, Immucell (ICCC) $96.49M, Merck (MRK) $347.85B.

Which company is growing faster?

Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +12.0%, Immucell (ICCC) -5.3%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Merck (MRK) has the highest net margin (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -4.0%, Immucell (ICCC) -2.4%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Immucell (ICCC) leads (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 6.1%, Immucell (ICCC) 6.5%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Immucell (ICCC) returned the most: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +1.8%, Immucell (ICCC) +64.4%, Merck (MRK) +61.2%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -7.2%/yr, Immucell (ICCC) +2.9%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 0.00%, Immucell (ICCC) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%. Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) and Immucell (ICCC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Merck (MRK) has been the steadiest (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 42.3%, Immucell (ICCC) 50.4%, Merck (MRK) 29.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ELAN, ICCC 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 4. 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.