IDXX vs NWPX vs MRK Stock Comparison

Idexx Laboratories, NWPX Infrastructure and Merck Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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

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

QuestionIDXXNWPXMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $43.52B $933.58M $370.60B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.2x 17.5x 151.1x NWPX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.9x 18.9x 59.0x NWPX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.8% +15.9% +4.9% NWPX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 25.0% 8.9% — IDXX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 45.6% 12.5% — IDXX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.2x — NWPX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.2% +76.0% +69.0% NWPX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.9%/yr +32.8%/yr +10.7%/yr NWPX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.1% 40.0% 29.8% MRK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 77/100 80/100 61/100 NWPX

Percentile Scorecard

IDXXNWPXMRK

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

AxisIDXXNWPXMRK
Valuation 75 #155 of 624 100 #1 of 21 91 #60 of 624
Growth 76 #148 of 601 94 #2 of 19 21 #478 of 601
Profitability 97 #17 of 541 80 #4 of 16 –
Financial Health 46 #350 of 647 70 #7 of 21 –
Shareholder Returns 93 #26 of 359 56 #5 of 10 71 #104 of 359
Overall 77 80 61
  • IDXX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NWPX ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment
  • 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

PeriodIDXXNWPXMRKSPY
1 month +8.0%-4.3%-2.0% +0.7%
3 months +3.1%-22.8%+12.8% +3.7%
6 months +2.7%-0.3%+34.0% +7.1%
Year to date -14.9%+56.8%+39.0% +12.8%
1 year -8.2%+76.0%+69.0% +11.9%
3 years +45.3%+253.8%+42.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +13.3%+52.4%+12.5% +22.8%
5 years -13.5%+312.5%+66.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year -2.9%+32.8%+10.7% +10.9%
10 years +448.3%+647.0%+148.7% +262.0%
10 years, per year +18.6%+22.3%+9.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIDXXNWPXMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.1%40.0%29.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.3%34.4%24.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.791.300.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.261.902.32 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.3%-35.8%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.9%-34.6%-6.5% -1.2%
52-week high $766.68$149.94$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $504.70$53.85$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.

MultipleIDXXNWPXMRK
P/E now vs peer median 39.9xmedian 17.8x 17.7xmedian 25.4x 147.4xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 9.1x 1.6xmedian 2.5x 5.4xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.6xmedian 15.0x 10.3xmedian 17.9x —median 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.2xmedian 21.7x 10.9xmedian 22.3x 22.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 28.2xmedian 2.2x 2.2xmedian 1.8x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.64median 0.35 0.54median 1.73 -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 monthsIDXXNWPXMRK
Revenue $4.55B $602.76M $67.38B
Gross profit $2.84B $125.97M –
Operating income $1.46B $71.15M –
Net income $1.14B $53.48M –
Free cash flow $1.25B $86.83M –
R&D $261.47M – $30.76B
EPS (diluted) $14.37 $5.45 $0.99
Cash & equivalents $196.93M $6.06M –
Total debt $968.86M $21.50M –
Shares (diluted) 79.31M 9.81M 2.47B
Enterprise value $42.73B $891.67M $370.60B

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
MetricIDXXNWPXMRK
P/E 39.9x 17.7x 147.4x
P/FCF 36.2x 10.9x 22.9x
P/Operating cash flow 33.1x 8.8x –
P/S 10.0x 1.6x 5.4x
P/B 28.2x 2.2x –
P/Tangible book 30.0x 2.3x –
EV/EBITDA 28.6x 10.3x –
EV/EBIT 31.7x 13.5x –
EV/Revenue 10.1x 1.6x 5.4x
EV/FCF 36.8x 11.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 33.7x 9.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.64 0.54 -8.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIDXXNWPXMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.8% 15.9% 4.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 11.0% 4.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.4% 26.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.5% 16.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.2% 47.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 25.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) 15.6% 46.0% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 31.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 18.1% 46.1% -87.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.1% 32.7% -18.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 51.4% 58.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.5% 43.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 59.9% 80.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.4% 92.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIDXXNWPXMRK
Gross margin 62.4% 20.9% –
EBITDA margin 35.4% 15.4% –
Operating margin 32.0% 11.8% –
Pretax margin 31.3% 11.4% –
Net margin 25.0% 8.9% –
FCF margin 27.5% 14.4% –
Operating cash flow margin 30.1% 17.7% –
Return on equity 71.9% 12.5% –
Return on assets 33.4% 7.9% –
Return on invested capital 45.6% 12.5% –
Return on capital employed 68.6% 12.9% –
Asset turnover 1.3x 0.9x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 2.0x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.4% 1.2% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIDXXNWPXMRK
Debt / assets 28.1% 3.1% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 0.2x –
Debt / FCF 0.8x 0.2x –
Liabilities / assets 53.2% 37.0% –
Equity / assets 46.8% 63.0% –
Interest coverage 38.6x 48.6x –
Current ratio 1.2x 2.6x –
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.8x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x –
Altman Z-score 20.55 4.40 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIDXXNWPXMRK
Dividend yield – – 2.3%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 0.7% –
Shareholder yield 2.3% 0.7% 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.

ConsensusIDXXNWPXMRK
Forward P/E 36.9xFY2026 18.9xFY2026 59.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $15.63FY2026 $5.19FY2026 $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.5%FY2026 +45.8%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.9% -7.5% +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.00BFY2026 $573.90MFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.3%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +3.8% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIDXXNWPXMRK
Held by institutions 93.6% 89.5% 79.9%
Institutions holding 1,290 225 3,798
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.1% +4.6% +2.6%
Institutions buying 588 125 1,843
Institutions selling 496 65 1,465
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.92 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.

IDXXNWPXMRK
IDXX 1.00 0.07 0.19
NWPX 0.07 1.00 0.02
MRK 0.19 0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IDXX, NWPX and MRK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) $43.52B, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) $933.58M, Merck (MRK) $370.60B.

Which stock is cheaper, IDXX, NWPX and MRK?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 38.2x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 17.5x, Merck (MRK) 151.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) is cheapest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 36.9x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 18.9x, 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?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) +12.8%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +15.9%, Merck (MRK) +4.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) has the highest net margin (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 25.0%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 8.9%). On return on invested capital, Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) leads (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 45.6%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 12.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) returned the most: Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -8.2%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +76.0%, Merck (MRK) +69.0%. Over five years, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) compounded fastest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) -2.9%/yr, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +32.8%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Merck (MRK) has been the steadiest (Idexx Laboratories (IDXX) 32.1%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 40.0%, Merck (MRK) 29.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IDXX, NWPX 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, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 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.