MRK vs NVS vs PAHC Stock Comparison

Merck, Novartis Ag and Phibro Animal Health Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.04 -5.2% 1M +62.1% 1Y
Market cap
$347.97B
P/E
109.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
2.41%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.09 +6.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$297.84B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.04%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Phibro Animal Health leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Phibro Animal Health 7, Novartis Ag 3, Merck 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMRKNVSPAHCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $347.97B $297.84B $1.54B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 109.8x 17.9x 15.4x PAHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 56.9x 16.9x 11.1x PAHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% — +17.1% PAHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% — 6.6% PAHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — 14.2% PAHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.6x — 2.1x PAHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.41% 3.04% 1.27% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +62.1% +26.5% -9.1% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.9%/yr +13.5%/yr +11.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.6% 27.5% 55.5% NVS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 — 68/100 PAHC

Percentile Scorecard

MRKNVSPAHC

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

AxisMRKNVSPAHC
Valuation 81 #120 of 625 97 #19 of 625 92 #52 of 625
Growth 36 #383 of 602 – 85 #90 of 602
Profitability 91 #53 of 549 – 85 #81 of 549
Financial Health 20 #523 of 654 – 26 #485 of 654
Shareholder Returns 81 #69 of 367 82 #67 of 367 54 #171 of 367
Overall 62 – 68
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PAHC 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

PeriodMRKNVSPAHCSPY
1 month -5.2%+6.2%+6.1% +0.9%
3 months +8.2%-1.7%+2.5% +5.9%
6 months +27.1%+9.2%-27.8% +8.5%
Year to date +34.0%+13.2%+1.4% +13.3%
1 year +62.1%+26.5%-9.1% +12.4%
3 years +37.2%+69.2%+251.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year +11.1%+19.2%+52.1% +23.5%
5 years +60.2%+88.6%+72.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +9.9%+13.5%+11.5% +11.0%
10 years +139.7%+119.6%+45.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +9.1%+8.2%+3.8% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureMRKNVSPAHCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.6%27.5%55.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%30.0%59.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.120.350.75 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.100.96-0.16 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.7%-20.4%-57.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.8%-7.4%-36.4% -0.9%
52-week high $156.45$168.62$59.58 $779.14
52-week low $82.49$121.80$28.52 $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.

MultipleMRKNVSPAHC
P/E now vs peer median 109.8xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 17.4x 15.4xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 9.1x 5.1xmedian 9.1x 1.0xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.1xmedian 17.1x —median 17.1x 8.1xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 19.0x 14.3xmedian 19.0x 155.7xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 4.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 69.11median 0.34 —median 0.34 0.35median 0.34

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 monthsMRKNVSPAHC
Revenue $66.57B – $1.52B
Gross profit $48.57B – $512.52M
Operating income $6.38B – $194.40M
Net income $3.17B – $99.72M
Free cash flow $16.06B – $9.87M
R&D $30.45B – –
EPS (diluted) $1.28 – $2.43
Cash & equivalents $6.85B $400.00M $61.42M
Total debt $53.91B – $2.49B
Shares (diluted) 2.47B 1.96B 40.96M
Enterprise value $302.40B $271.42B $1.22B

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
MetricMRKNVSPAHC
P/E 109.8x 17.9x 15.4x
P/FCF 21.7x 14.3x 155.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.4x – 22.3x
P/S 5.2x 5.1x 1.0x
P/B 8.3x – 4.0x
P/Tangible book 20.5x – 4.3x
EV/EBITDA 30.1x – 8.1x
EV/EBIT 61.9x – 10.7x
EV/Revenue 5.9x – 1.4x
EV/FCF 24.6x – 209.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.8x – 30.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 69.11 – 0.35

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRKNVSPAHC
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% – 17.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% – 15.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.3% – 28.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.5% – 19.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -66.6% – 76.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.9% – 39.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -80.7% – 106.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – 45.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -80.3% – 105.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.6% – 44.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.7% – -13.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.8% – 73.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.1% – -76.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.0% – 31.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMRKNVSPAHC
Gross margin 73.0% – 33.8%
EBITDA margin 19.7% – 16.8%
Operating margin 9.6% – 12.8%
Pretax margin 8.9% – 9.0%
Net margin 4.8% – 6.6%
FCF margin 24.1% – 0.6%
Operating cash flow margin 30.0% – 4.5%
Return on equity 7.2% – 26.7%
Return on assets 2.5% – 6.8%
Return on invested capital 3.6% – 14.2%
Return on capital employed 6.3% – 16.8%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.3x – 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% – 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMRKNVSPAHC
Debt / assets 41.5% – 41.1%
Debt / equity 1.3x – 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.6x – 2.1x
Debt / FCF 3.4x – 62.5x
Liabilities / assets 67.7% – 74.3%
Equity / assets 32.3% – 25.7%
Interest coverage – – 4.2x
Current ratio 1.3x – 3.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x – 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.82 – 3.09

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRKNVSPAHC
Dividend yield 2.4% 3.0% 1.3%
Net buyback yield 1.1% – –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 3.0% 1.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 261.8% – 19.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 51.7% – 197.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% – 0.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.7% – 0.0%

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.

ConsensusMRKNVSPAHC
Forward P/E 56.9xFY2026 16.9xFY2026 11.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $2.48FY2026 $9.26FY2026 $3.42FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -72.4%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +6.2%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +257.3% +1.2% +9.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.45BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026 $1.53BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026 +0.6%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% +19.1% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRKNVSPAHC
Held by institutions 79.9% 7.0% 51.5%
Institutions holding 3,797 1,607 208
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% -5.9% +3.1%
Institutions buying 1,843 662 117
Institutions selling 1,464 560 73
Buyers to sellers 1.26 1.18 1.60

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.

MRKNVSPAHC
MRK 1.00 0.46 0.21
NVS 0.46 1.00 0.24
PAHC 0.21 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRK, NVS and PAHC?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Merck (MRK) $347.97B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $297.84B, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) $1.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, MRK, NVS and PAHC?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Merck (MRK) 109.8x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 15.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) is cheapest (Merck (MRK) 56.9x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 11.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +17.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) has the highest net margin (Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 6.6%). On return on invested capital, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) leads (Merck (MRK) 3.6%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 14.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Merck (MRK) +62.1%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +26.5%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) -9.1%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Merck (MRK) +9.9%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +11.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Merck (MRK) 2.41%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 3.04%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 1.27%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Novartis Ag (NVS) has been the steadiest (Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.5%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 55.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MRK, NVS and PAHC?

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