MRK vs AZN vs JNJ Stock Comparison

Merck, Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson 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
1 win
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
6 wins
JNJ Johnson & Johnson
$275.17 +2.8% 1M +47.5% 1Y
Market cap
$660.04B
P/E
41.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$99.34B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Astrazeneca leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Astrazeneca 6, Johnson & Johnson 4, Merck 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMRKAZNJNJLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $370.60B $288.69B $660.04B JNJ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 151.1x 27.6x 41.0x AZN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 59.0x 17.5x 25.7x AZN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.9% +9.4% +7.8% AZN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.8% 16.2% AZN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 23.3% 17.6% AZN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.4x 0.8x JNJ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +69.0% +6.1% +47.5% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.7%/yr +6.9%/yr +11.1%/yr JNJ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.8% 27.5% 20.9% JNJ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 71/100 68/100 AZN

Percentile Scorecard

MRKAZNJNJ

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

AxisMRKAZNJNJ
Valuation 91 #60 of 624 85 #96 of 624 86 #88 of 624
Growth 21 #478 of 601 70 #183 of 601 42 #351 of 601
Profitability – 94 #33 of 541 93 #37 of 541
Financial Health – 36 #415 of 647 41 #380 of 647
Shareholder Returns 71 #104 of 359 70 #110 of 359 76 #88 of 359
Overall 61 71 68
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • AZN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • JNJ 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

PeriodMRKAZNJNJSPY
1 month -2.0%+6.3%+2.8% +0.7%
3 months +12.8%+1.8%+7.5% +3.7%
6 months +34.0%-6.9%+19.7% +7.1%
Year to date +39.0%-5.1%+33.0% +12.8%
1 year +69.0%+6.1%+47.5% +11.9%
3 years +42.5%+38.6%+87.2% +85.2%
3 years, per year +12.5%+11.5%+23.3% +22.8%
5 years +66.2%+39.9%+68.9% +67.6%
5 years, per year +10.7%+6.9%+11.1% +10.9%
10 years +148.7%+205.1%+138.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +9.5%+11.8%+9.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMRKAZNJNJSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%27.5%20.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%27.2%20.1% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.21-0.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.320.222.28 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.7%-27.9%-23.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.5%-16.7%-1.2% -1.2%
52-week high $156.45$209.48$278.47 $779.14
52-week low $82.49$155.60$186.00 $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.

MultipleMRKAZNJNJ
P/E now vs peer median 147.4xmedian 17.8x 25.9xmedian 17.8x 41.2xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 9.1x 4.6xmedian 9.1x 6.7xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 15.0x 14.7xmedian 15.0x 20.7xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 21.7x 25.4xmedian 21.7x 32.2xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.2x 5.4xmedian 2.2x 8.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -8.13median 0.35 1.35median 0.35 -1.92median 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 monthsMRKAZNJNJ
Revenue $67.38B $58.67B $99.34B
Gross profit – $50.25B $67.11B
Operating income – $13.97B $25.19B
Net income – $10.45B $16.10B
Free cash flow – $10.67B $20.59B
R&D $30.76B $15.07B $16.08B
EPS (diluted) $0.99 $6.69 $6.57
Cash & equivalents – $4.90B $16.91B
Total debt – $32.35B $44.65B
Shares (diluted) 2.47B 1.56B 2.45B
Enterprise value $370.60B $262.37B $579.90B

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
MetricMRKAZNJNJ
P/E 147.4x 25.9x 41.2x
P/FCF 22.9x 25.4x 32.2x
P/Operating cash flow – 19.7x 25.3x
P/S 5.4x 4.6x 6.7x
P/B – 5.4x 8.1x
P/Tangible book – 21.4x 19.0x
EV/EBITDA – 14.7x 20.7x
EV/EBIT – 21.3x 27.4x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 5.1x 6.9x
EV/FCF – 27.9x 33.5x
EV/Operating cash flow – 21.7x 26.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -8.13 1.35 -1.92

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRKAZNJNJ
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.9% 9.4% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 10.6% 5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 9.3% 7.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 13.1% 5.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 23.4% 7.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 23.9% 1.4%
Net income growth (1Y) – 25.9% -35.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 19.2% -22.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -87.0% 26.0% -36.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 19.2% -21.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 2.3% 8.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 13.7% 12.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -4.5% 5.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.5% 14.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMRKAZNJNJ
Gross margin – 85.6% 67.6%
EBITDA margin – 34.6% 33.5%
Operating margin – 23.8% 25.4%
Pretax margin – 21.5% 17.9%
Net margin – 17.8% 16.2%
FCF margin – 18.2% 20.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 23.3% 26.3%
Return on equity – 21.4% 19.3%
Return on assets – 9.1% 8.1%
Return on invested capital – 23.3% 17.6%
Return on capital employed – 16.8% 17.5%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.3x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMRKAZNJNJ
Debt / assets – 27.9% 22.6%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.4x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 3.0x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets – 56.5% 58.7%
Equity / assets – 43.5% 41.3%
Interest coverage – 15.9x 25.6x
Current ratio – 0.9x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 3.50 5.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRKAZNJNJ
Dividend yield 2.3% 1.4% 1.9%
Net buyback yield – 0.0% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.3% 1.4% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 79.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 61.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.0%

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.

ConsensusMRKAZNJNJ
Forward P/E 59.0xFY2026 17.5xFY2026 25.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.48FY2026 $10.00FY2026 $10.72FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -72.4%FY2026 +9.2%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +257.3% +6.1% +5.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.45BFY2026 $59.02BFY2026 $106.54BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +0.5%FY2026 +13.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% +8.0% +7.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRKAZNJNJ
Held by institutions 79.9% 52.1% 74.7%
Institutions holding 3,798 1,497 4,692
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% +7.8% +1.8%
Institutions buying 1,843 809 2,294
Institutions selling 1,465 468 1,896
Buyers to sellers 1.26 1.73 1.21

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.

MRKAZNJNJ
MRK 1.00 0.50 0.48
AZN 0.50 1.00 0.48
JNJ 0.48 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRK, AZN and JNJ?

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Merck (MRK) $370.60B, Astrazeneca (AZN) $288.69B, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $660.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, MRK, AZN and JNJ?

Astrazeneca (AZN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Merck (MRK) 151.1x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.6x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 41.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Astrazeneca (AZN) is cheapest (Merck (MRK) 59.0x, Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.5x, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 25.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Astrazeneca (AZN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Merck (MRK) +4.9%, Astrazeneca (AZN) +9.4%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Astrazeneca (AZN) has the highest net margin (Astrazeneca (AZN) 17.8%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 16.2%). On return on invested capital, Astrazeneca (AZN) leads (Astrazeneca (AZN) 23.3%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Merck (MRK) +69.0%, Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.1%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +47.5%. Over five years, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) compounded fastest (Merck (MRK) +10.7%/yr, Astrazeneca (AZN) +6.9%/yr, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) +11.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Merck (MRK) 0.00%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 0.00%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 0.02%. Merck (MRK) and Astrazeneca (AZN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has been the steadiest (Merck (MRK) 29.8%, Astrazeneca (AZN) 27.5%, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 20.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.