MRK vs PAHC vs NVS Stock Comparison

Merck, Phibro Animal Health and Novartis Ag Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.84 -4.7% 1M +61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$347.85B
P/E
109.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.80 +7.8% 1M +21.4% 1Y
Market cap
$302.74B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionMRKPAHCNVSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $347.85B $1.55B $302.74B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 109.6x 15.5x 17.9x PAHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 57.2x 11.2x 16.9x 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 0.02% 0.01% 0.00% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.2% -8.0% +21.4% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.4%/yr +11.6%/yr +13.5%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.6% 55.5% 27.9% NVS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 68/100 — PAHC

Percentile Scorecard

MRKPAHCNVS

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

AxisMRKPAHCNVS
Valuation 80 #124 of 625 92 #54 of 625 97 #20 of 625
Growth 36 #384 of 602 85 #90 of 602 –
Profitability 91 #53 of 551 86 #81 of 551 –
Financial Health 20 #526 of 656 26 #485 of 656 –
Shareholder Returns 82 #68 of 365 54 #170 of 365 81 #69 of 365
Overall 62 68 –
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PAHC ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS 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

PeriodMRKPAHCNVSSPY
1 month -4.7%+11.4%+7.8% -0.2%
3 months +7.6%+5.5%-1.9% +3.9%
6 months +28.9%-29.3%+7.8% +8.2%
Year to date +34.8%+2.7%+13.7% +12.9%
1 year +61.2%-8.0%+21.4% +12.3%
3 years +37.9%+256.4%+69.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +11.3%+52.8%+19.3% +23.3%
5 years +63.9%+73.0%+88.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +10.4%+11.6%+13.5% +10.9%
10 years +131.4%+49.0%+119.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.8%+4.1%+8.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMRKPAHCNVSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.6%55.5%27.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%59.8%30.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.120.750.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.07-0.140.77 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.7%-57.9%-20.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.3%-35.6%-7.0% -1.2%
52-week high $156.45$59.58$168.62 $779.14
52-week low $82.49$28.52$121.80 $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.

MultipleMRKPAHCNVS
P/E now vs peer median 110.4xmedian 17.2x 15.6xmedian 17.2x 17.9xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 9.0x 1.0xmedian 9.0x 5.1xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 16.3x 8.2xmedian 16.3x —median 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 18.7x 157.7xmedian 18.7x 14.3xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.2x 4.0xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 69.50median 0.33 0.35median 0.33 —median 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 monthsMRKPAHCNVS
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 $61.42M $400.00M
Total debt $53.91B $2.49B –
Shares (diluted) 2.47B 40.96M 1.96B
Enterprise value $302.23B $1.23B $275.97B

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
MetricMRKPAHCNVS
P/E 110.4x 15.6x 17.9x
P/FCF 21.8x 157.7x 14.3x
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x 22.6x –
P/S 5.3x 1.0x 5.1x
P/B 8.3x 4.0x –
P/Tangible book 20.6x 4.4x –
EV/EBITDA 30.3x 8.2x –
EV/EBIT 62.2x 10.8x –
EV/Revenue 6.0x 1.4x –
EV/FCF 24.7x 211.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x 30.3x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 69.50 0.35 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRKPAHCNVS
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
MetricMRKPAHCNVS
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
MetricMRKPAHCNVS
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 3.83 3.10 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRKPAHCNVS
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.3% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 1.1% – –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 1.3% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusMRKPAHCNVS
Forward P/E 57.2xFY2026 11.2xFY2027 16.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.48FY2026 $3.42FY2027 $9.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -72.4%FY2026 +6.2%FY2027 +3.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +257.3% +9.6% +1.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.45BFY2026 $1.53BFY2027 $53.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +0.6%FY2027 -1.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% -0.2% +19.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRKPAHCNVS
Held by institutions 79.9% 51.5% 7.0%
Institutions holding 3,796 208 1,607
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% +3.1% -5.9%
Institutions buying 1,842 117 662
Institutions selling 1,464 73 560
Buyers to sellers 1.26 1.60 1.18

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.

MRKPAHCNVS
MRK 1.00 0.21 0.46
PAHC 0.21 1.00 0.24
NVS 0.46 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRK, PAHC and NVS?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Merck (MRK) $347.85B, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) $1.55B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $302.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, MRK, PAHC and NVS?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Merck (MRK) 109.6x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 15.5x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) is cheapest (Merck (MRK) 57.2x, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 11.2x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x). 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) +61.2%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) -8.0%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +21.4%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Merck (MRK) +10.4%/yr, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +11.6%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Merck (MRK) has the highest dividend yield: Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 0.01%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 0.00%. Novartis Ag (NVS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Novartis Ag (NVS) has been the steadiest (Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 55.5%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.