OGN vs NVS vs MRK Stock Comparison

Organon, Novartis Ag and Merck Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
OGN Organon & Co.
$13.74 +0.1% 1M +94.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.61B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
0.58%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
NVS Novartis Ag
$156.80 +7.8% 1M +21.4% 1Y
Market cap
$299.20B
P/E
17.9x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
3.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
3 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.84 -4.7% 1M +61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$349.94B
P/E
110.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
2.40%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Merck leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Merck 5, Organon 4, Novartis Ag 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionOGNNVSMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.61B $299.20B $349.94B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.3x 17.9x 110.4x OGN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 3.9x 16.9x 57.2x OGN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -2.5% — +4.6% MRK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.4% — 4.8% MRK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% — 3.6% OGN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x — 3.6x MRK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.58% 3.02% 2.40% NVS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +94.6% +21.4% +61.2% OGN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.8%/yr +13.5%/yr +10.4%/yr NVS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.8% 27.9% 29.6% NVS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 — 62/100 MRK

Percentile Scorecard

OGNNVSMRK

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

AxisOGNNVSMRK
Valuation 99 #9 of 625 97 #20 of 625 80 #124 of 625
Growth 23 #462 of 602 – 36 #384 of 602
Profitability 88 #68 of 551 – 91 #53 of 551
Financial Health 17 #547 of 656 – 20 #526 of 656
Shareholder Returns 50 #182 of 365 81 #69 of 365 82 #68 of 365
Overall 55 – 62
  • OGN ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NVS ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK 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

PeriodOGNNVSMRKSPY
1 month +0.1%+7.8%-4.7% -0.2%
3 months +1.6%-1.9%+7.6% +3.9%
6 months +3.2%+7.8%+28.9% +8.2%
Year to date +91.6%+13.7%+34.8% +12.9%
1 year +94.6%+21.4%+61.2% +12.3%
3 years -8.2%+69.9%+37.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year -2.8%+19.3%+11.3% +23.3%
5 years -62.4%+88.2%+63.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -17.8%+13.5%+10.4% +10.9%
10 years —+119.0%+131.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+8.2%+8.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureOGNNVSMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.8%27.9%29.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.3%30.7%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.760.340.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.670.772.07 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -85.5%-20.4%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.5%-7.0%-9.3% -1.2%
52-week high $13.81$168.62$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $5.70$121.80$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.

MultipleOGNNVSMRK
P/E now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 17.2x 17.9xmedian 17.2x 110.4xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 9.0x 5.1xmedian 9.0x 5.3xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 16.3x —median 16.3x 30.3xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 18.7x 14.3xmedian 18.7x 21.8xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 8.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.48median 0.33 —median 0.33 69.50median 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 monthsOGNNVSMRK
Revenue $6.13B – $66.57B
Gross profit $3.23B – $48.57B
Operating income $1.13B – $6.38B
Net income $209.00M – $3.17B
Free cash flow $567.00M – $16.06B
R&D $358.00M – $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $0.77 – $1.28
Cash & equivalents $1.13B $400.00M $6.85B
Total debt $8.55B – $53.91B
Shares (diluted) 270.45M 1.96B 2.47B
Enterprise value $114.25M $272.77B $304.37B

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
MetricOGNNVSMRK
P/E 17.3x 17.9x 110.4x
P/FCF 6.4x 14.3x 21.8x
P/Operating cash flow 4.9x – 17.5x
P/S 0.6x 5.1x 5.3x
P/B 3.6x – 8.3x
P/Tangible book -34.0x – 20.6x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x – 30.3x
EV/EBIT 9.8x – 62.2x
EV/Revenue 1.8x – 6.0x
EV/FCF 19.5x – 24.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.0x – 19.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.48 – 69.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricOGNNVSMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) -2.5% – 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.2% – 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -8.7% – -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.3% – 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -9.3% – -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -8.1% – 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -70.1% – -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -34.8% – 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -71.3% – -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -36.0% – 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -10.8% – 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -13.8% – 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricOGNNVSMRK
Gross margin 52.7% – 73.0%
EBITDA margin 24.2% – 19.7%
Operating margin 18.4% – 9.6%
Pretax margin 8.0% – 8.9%
Net margin 3.4% – 4.8%
FCF margin 9.3% – 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin 12.0% – 30.0%
Return on equity 21.9% – 7.2%
Return on assets 1.6% – 2.5%
Return on invested capital 5.0% – 3.6%
Return on capital employed 10.8% – 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.5x – 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% – 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricOGNNVSMRK
Debt / assets 64.9% – 41.5%
Debt / equity 8.5x – 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x – 3.6x
Debt / FCF 15.1x – 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 92.4% – 67.7%
Equity / assets 7.6% – 32.3%
Interest coverage 2.4x – –
Current ratio 2.0x – 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x – 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.30 – 3.83

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricOGNNVSMRK
Dividend yield 0.6% 3.0% 2.4%
Net buyback yield – – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 0.6% 3.0% 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 261.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 51.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.7%

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.

ConsensusOGNNVSMRK
Forward P/E 3.9xFY2026 16.9xFY2026 57.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.56FY2026 $9.26FY2026 $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.7%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after 0.0% +1.2% +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.89BFY2026 $53.95BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.3%FY2026 -1.1%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.0% +19.1% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersOGNNVSMRK
Held by institutions 84.3% 7.0% 79.9%
Institutions holding 631 1,607 3,796
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.8% -5.9% +2.6%
Institutions buying 244 662 1,842
Institutions selling 186 560 1,464
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.18 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.

OGNNVSMRK
OGN 1.00 0.03 0.01
NVS 0.03 1.00 0.46
MRK 0.01 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, OGN, NVS and MRK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Organon (OGN) $3.61B, Novartis Ag (NVS) $299.20B, Merck (MRK) $349.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, OGN, NVS and MRK?

Organon (OGN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Organon (OGN) 17.3x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 17.9x, Merck (MRK) 110.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Organon (OGN) is cheapest (Organon (OGN) 3.9x, Novartis Ag (NVS) 16.9x, Merck (MRK) 57.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Merck (MRK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Organon (OGN) -2.5%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Merck (MRK) has the highest net margin (Organon (OGN) 3.4%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Organon (OGN) leads (Organon (OGN) 5.0%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Organon (OGN) returned the most: Organon (OGN) +94.6%, Novartis Ag (NVS) +21.4%, Merck (MRK) +61.2%. Over five years, Novartis Ag (NVS) compounded fastest (Organon (OGN) -17.8%/yr, Novartis Ag (NVS) +13.5%/yr, Merck (MRK) +10.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Novartis Ag (NVS) has the highest dividend yield: Organon (OGN) 0.58%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 3.02%, Merck (MRK) 2.40%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Novartis Ag (NVS) has been the steadiest (Organon (OGN) 56.8%, Novartis Ag (NVS) 27.9%, Merck (MRK) 29.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, OGN, NVS 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, Merck (MRK) leads on 5. 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.