ELAN vs MRK vs NEOG Stock Comparison

Elanco Animal Health, Merck and Neogen Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$144.68 +0.3% 1M +75.4% 1Y
Market cap
$370.06B
P/E
116.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
NEOG Neogen Corp
$12.10 -0.4% 1M +92.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.72B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$883.99M
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Equipment Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Elanco Animal Health leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Elanco Animal Health 5, Merck 4, Neogen 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionELANMRKNEOGLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.55B $370.06B $2.72B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -63.1x 116.6x -48.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.6x 58.3x 37.8x ELAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% +4.6% -0.3% ELAN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -4.0% 4.8% -6.3% MRK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.1% 3.6% -0.2% ELAN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 3.6x 5.4x ELAN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.6% +75.4% +92.4% NEOG
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.7%/yr +9.8%/yr -22.7%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.4% 29.7% 55.7% MRK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 61/100 58/100 ELAN

Percentile Scorecard

ELANMRKNEOG

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

AxisELANMRKNEOG
Valuation 94 #42 of 634 80 #131 of 634 72 #65 of 229
Growth 55 #274 of 607 37 #386 of 607 48 #116 of 221
Profitability 84 #91 of 557 91 #53 of 557 62 #80 of 209
Financial Health 32 #443 of 654 20 #521 of 654 49 #123 of 240
Shareholder Returns – 80 #83 of 401 61 #58 of 147
Overall 66 61 58
  • ELAN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NEOG ranked among 248 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodELANMRKNEOGSPY
1 month +11.0%+0.3%-0.4% -2.0%
3 months -4.0%+13.0%+2.5% -2.2%
6 months +6.9%+27.9%+30.5% +4.2%
Year to date +8.6%+37.5%+73.1% +10.6%
1 year +7.6%+75.4%+92.4% +10.4%
3 years +155.8%+39.9%-23.5% +73.6%
3 years, per year +36.8%+11.9%-8.6% +20.2%
5 years -25.2%+59.8%-72.5% +61.6%
5 years, per year -5.7%+9.8%-22.7% +10.1%
10 years —+147.6%-37.1% +261.3%
10 years, per year —+9.5%-4.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureELANMRKNEOGSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.4%29.7%55.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.9%24.3%46.7% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.270.091.43 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.182.541.66 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -76.3%-44.7%-90.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.4%-7.5%-13.4% -3.2%
52-week high $26.84$156.45$13.98 $779.14
52-week low $19.80$82.49$5.41 $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.

MultipleELANMRKNEOG
P/E now vs peer median -61.7xmedian 18.4x 112.6xmedian 18.4x -47.0xmedian 28.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 9.0x 5.4xmedian 9.0x 3.0xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 16.0x 30.8xmedian 16.0x 29.2xmedian 18.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.4xmedian 21.8x 22.2xmedian 21.8x 53.0xmedian 24.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.1x 8.5xmedian 2.1x 1.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.13median 0.37 70.89median 0.37 1.68median 0.95

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 monthsELANMRKNEOG
Revenue $5.02B $66.57B $883.99M
Gross profit $2.78B $48.57B $418.98M
Operating income $637.00M $6.38B -$7.38M
Net income -$199.00M $3.17B -$56.10M
Free cash flow $379.00M $16.06B $49.80M
R&D $371.00M $30.45B $19.76M
EPS (diluted) $-0.39 $1.28 $-0.26
Cash & equivalents $530.00M $6.85B $172.00M
Total debt $3.92B $53.91B $774.20M
Shares (diluted) 505.90M 2.47B 218.10M
Enterprise value $10.55B $324.43B $2.06B

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
MetricELANMRKNEOG
P/E -61.7x 112.6x -47.0x
P/FCF 32.4x 22.2x 53.0x
P/Operating cash flow 19.9x 17.9x 31.0x
P/S 2.4x 5.4x 3.0x
P/B 1.9x 8.5x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 3.6x 21.0x 3.3x
EV/EBITDA 11.8x 30.8x 29.2x
EV/EBIT 24.6x 63.3x -439.7x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 6.1x 3.7x
EV/FCF 41.3x 25.1x 65.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.4x 20.2x 38.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.13 70.89 1.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricELANMRKNEOG
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% 4.6% -0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 4.5% -1.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 13.2% -0.3% 1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 4.5% -3.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 22.0% -66.6% 99.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 59.8% 1.9% -29.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -145.9% -80.7% 94.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -20.8% 0.5% -28.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -145.3% -80.3% 94.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.7% 1.6% -28.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.9% 7.7% -1.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 73.6% 9.8% 2.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.0% 9.1% 1,631%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 101.8% 14.0% 126.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricELANMRKNEOG
Gross margin 55.4% 73.0% 47.4%
EBITDA margin 26.5% 19.7% 12.5%
Operating margin 12.7% 9.6% -0.8%
Pretax margin -3.3% 8.9% -7.7%
Net margin -4.0% 4.8% -6.3%
FCF margin 7.5% 24.1% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 12.3% 30.0% 9.6%
Return on equity -3.0% 7.2% -2.7%
Return on assets -1.5% 2.5% -1.7%
Return on invested capital 6.1% 3.6% -0.2%
Return on capital employed 5.5% 6.3% -0.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -3.1x 6.3x -1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 1.3% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricELANMRKNEOG
Debt / assets 28.9% 41.5% 23.4%
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.3x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 3.6x 5.4x
Debt / FCF 10.3x 3.4x 15.5x
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 67.7% 36.8%
Equity / assets 48.6% 32.3% 63.2%
Interest coverage 2.6x – –
Current ratio 2.1x 1.3x 3.9x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.7x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 1.54 3.88 1.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricELANMRKNEOG
Dividend yield – 2.4% –
Net buyback yield – 1.1% -0.1%
Shareholder yield – 3.5% -0.1%
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.

ConsensusELANMRKNEOG
Forward P/E 22.6xFY2026 58.3xFY2026 37.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.09FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $0.32FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.0%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 0.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.9% +257.3% +31.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.79BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $847.28MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.6%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 -2.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.7% -3.8% -1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersELANMRKNEOG
Held by institutions 100.0% 79.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 526 3,802 315
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.4% +2.6% +1.6%
Institutions buying 246 1,843 151
Institutions selling 211 1,468 106
Buyers to sellers 1.17 1.26 1.42

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.

ELANMRKNEOG
ELAN 1.00 0.22 0.26
MRK 0.22 1.00 0.15
NEOG 0.26 0.15 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ELAN, MRK and NEOG?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) $12.55B, Merck (MRK) $370.06B, Neogen (NEOG) $2.72B.

Which company is growing faster?

Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +12.0%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Neogen (NEOG) -0.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Merck (MRK) has the highest net margin (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -4.0%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Neogen (NEOG) -6.3%). On return on invested capital, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) leads (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 6.1%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%, Neogen (NEOG) -0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Neogen (NEOG) returned the most: Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +7.6%, Merck (MRK) +75.4%, Neogen (NEOG) +92.4%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -5.7%/yr, Merck (MRK) +9.8%/yr, Neogen (NEOG) -22.7%/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%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Neogen (NEOG) 0.00%. Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) and Neogen (NEOG) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Merck (MRK) has been the steadiest (Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 42.4%, Merck (MRK) 29.7%, Neogen (NEOG) 55.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ELAN, MRK and NEOG?

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