MRK vs COR vs GSK Stock Comparison

Merck, Cencora and Gsk Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.84 -4.7% 1M +61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$347.75B
P/E
109.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
COR Cencora, Inc.
$325.38 +6.0% 1M -3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$62.89B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$332.77B
Div. yield
0.01%
Drug Distribution Healthcare
3 wins
GSK GSK plc
$50.98 +3.5% 1M +16.4% 1Y
Market cap
$98.74B
P/E
7.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$76.55B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Gsk leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Gsk 6, Merck 3, Cencora 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMRKCORGSKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $347.75B $62.89B $98.74B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 109.6x 24.0x 7.5x GSK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 57.2x 19.1x 10.1x GSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% +5.1% +87.0% GSK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% 0.8% 17.3% GSK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 14.4% — COR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.6x 2.2x — COR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.2% -3.2% +16.4% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.4%/yr +22.0%/yr +3.9%/yr COR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.6% 32.7% 26.1% GSK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 50/100 79/100 GSK

Percentile Scorecard

MRKCORGSK

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

AxisMRKCORGSK
Valuation 80 #124 of 625 58 #11 of 25 84 #102 of 625
Growth 36 #384 of 602 74 #7 of 24 77 #140 of 602
Profitability 91 #53 of 551 52 #12 of 24 96 #24 of 551
Financial Health 20 #526 of 656 24 #20 of 26 54 #302 of 656
Shareholder Returns 82 #68 of 365 43 #9 of 15 85 #55 of 365
Overall 62 50 79
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • COR ranked among 27 companies in Healthcare Payers and Distributors
  • GSK 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

PeriodMRKCORGSKSPY
1 month -4.7%+6.0%+3.5% -0.2%
3 months +7.6%+1.8%-5.1% +3.9%
6 months +28.9%+4.3%-6.4% +8.2%
Year to date +34.8%-3.7%+4.0% +12.9%
1 year +61.2%-3.2%+16.4% +12.3%
3 years +37.9%+73.4%+47.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +11.3%+20.2%+13.8% +23.3%
5 years +63.9%+169.6%+21.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year +10.4%+22.0%+3.9% +10.9%
10 years +131.4%+309.3%+26.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.8%+15.1%+2.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMRKCORGSKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.6%32.7%26.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%39.5%23.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.12-0.150.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.07-0.100.63 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.7%-32.6%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.3%-13.2%-16.7% -1.2%
52-week high $156.45$374.75$61.18 $779.14
52-week low $82.49$252.74$43.70 $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.

MultipleMRKCORGSK
P/E now vs peer median 110.4xmedian 17.2x 23.9xmedian 23.9x 7.8xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 9.0x 0.2xmedian 0.3x 1.4xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 16.3x 17.3xmedian 13.4x —median 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 18.7x 15.3xmedian 15.5x —median 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.2x 19.2xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 69.50median 0.33 1.34median 1.34 -0.74median 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 monthsMRKCORGSK
Revenue $66.57B $332.77B $76.55B
Gross profit $48.57B $13.22B $55.94B
Operating income $6.38B $3.04B $17.79B
Net income $3.17B $2.65B $3.57B
Free cash flow $16.06B $4.06B –
R&D $30.45B – $19.22B
EPS (diluted) $1.28 $13.53 $6.43
Cash & equivalents $6.85B $2.82B $4.12B
Total debt $53.91B $11.72B -$24.25B
Shares (diluted) 2.47B 193.94M 2.06B
Enterprise value $302.13B $51.79B $81.06B

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
MetricMRKCORGSK
P/E 110.4x 23.9x 7.8x
P/FCF 21.8x 15.3x –
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x 12.9x –
P/S 5.3x 0.2x 1.4x
P/B 8.3x 19.2x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 20.6x -23.1x 221.3x
EV/EBITDA 30.3x 17.3x –
EV/EBIT 62.2x 23.3x 4.6x
EV/Revenue 6.0x 0.2x 1.1x
EV/FCF 24.7x 17.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x 14.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 69.50 1.34 -0.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRKCORGSK
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% 5.1% 87.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 9.4% 29.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.3% 20.0% 91.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 15.0% 30.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -66.6% 11.1% 168.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.9% 9.5% 26.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -80.7% 38.9% -38.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 16.2% -51.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -80.3% 39.3% 201.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.6% 17.9% -10.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.7% 176.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.8% 14.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.1% 255.7% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 13.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMRKCORGSK
Gross margin 73.0% 4.0% 73.1%
EBITDA margin 19.7% 1.2% –
Operating margin 9.6% 0.9% 23.2%
Pretax margin 8.9% 1.1% 21.6%
Net margin 4.8% 0.8% 17.3%
FCF margin 24.1% 1.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 30.0% 1.4% –
Return on equity 7.2% 77.4% 77.6%
Return on assets 2.5% 3.2% 21.6%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 14.4% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% 12.9% 16.0%
Asset turnover 0.5x 4.0x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.3x 1.8x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 0.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMRKCORGSK
Debt / assets 41.5% 14.0% -29.6%
Debt / equity 1.3x 3.6x -1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.6x 2.2x –
Debt / FCF 3.4x 2.9x –
Liabilities / assets 67.7% 96.1% 72.2%
Equity / assets 32.3% 3.9% 27.8%
Interest coverage – – 10.9x
Current ratio 1.3x 0.9x -0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.5x -0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.0x -0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.83 4.65 3.79

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRKCORGSK
Dividend yield 2.4% 0.7% 3.5%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 1.6% –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 2.3% 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 261.8% 17.7% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 51.7% 11.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% 8.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.7% 5.7% –

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.

ConsensusMRKCORGSK
Forward P/E 57.2xFY2026 19.1xFY2026 10.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.48FY2026 $17.08FY2026 $5.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -72.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +257.3% +11.8% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.45BFY2026 $328.56BFY2026 $48.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% -0.3% +1.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRKCORGSK
Held by institutions 79.9% 0.1% 16.0%
Institutions holding 3,796 3 1,037
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% – -7.4%
Institutions buying 1,842 2 484
Institutions selling 1,464 0 334
Buyers to sellers 1.26 – 1.45

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.

MRKCORGSK
MRK 1.00 0.17 0.51
COR 0.17 1.00 0.14
GSK 0.51 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRK, COR and GSK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Merck (MRK) $347.75B, Cencora (COR) $62.89B, Gsk (GSK) $98.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, MRK, COR and GSK?

Gsk (GSK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Merck (MRK) 109.6x, Cencora (COR) 24.0x, Gsk (GSK) 7.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gsk (GSK) is cheapest (Merck (MRK) 57.2x, Cencora (COR) 19.1x, Gsk (GSK) 10.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gsk (GSK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Cencora (COR) +5.1%, Gsk (GSK) +87.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gsk (GSK) has the highest net margin (Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Cencora (COR) 0.8%, Gsk (GSK) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Cencora (COR) leads (Merck (MRK) 3.6%, Cencora (COR) 14.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Merck (MRK) +61.2%, Cencora (COR) -3.2%, Gsk (GSK) +16.4%. Over five years, Cencora (COR) compounded fastest (Merck (MRK) +10.4%/yr, Cencora (COR) +22.0%/yr, Gsk (GSK) +3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Merck (MRK) has the highest dividend yield: Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Cencora (COR) 0.01%, Gsk (GSK) 0.00%. Gsk (GSK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gsk (GSK) has been the steadiest (Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Cencora (COR) 32.7%, Gsk (GSK) 26.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MRK, COR and GSK?

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