PAHC vs ELAN vs MRK Stock Comparison

Phibro Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health and Merck Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$144.68 +0.3% 1M +75.4% 1Y
Market cap
$370.06B
P/E
116.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Phibro Animal Health leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Phibro Animal Health 8, Merck 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPAHCELANMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.61B $12.55B $370.06B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.1x -63.1x 116.6x PAHC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 11.0x 22.6x 58.3x PAHC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.1% +12.0% +4.6% PAHC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.6% -4.0% 4.8% PAHC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.2% 6.1% 3.6% PAHC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.5x 3.6x PAHC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.02% MRK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.2% +7.6% +75.4% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.5%/yr -5.7%/yr +9.8%/yr PAHC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.5% 42.4% 29.7% MRK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 66/100 61/100 PAHC

Percentile Scorecard

PAHCELANMRK

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

AxisPAHCELANMRK
Valuation 92 #49 of 634 94 #42 of 634 80 #131 of 634
Growth 86 #87 of 607 55 #274 of 607 37 #386 of 607
Profitability 85 #85 of 557 84 #91 of 557 91 #53 of 557
Financial Health 27 #481 of 654 32 #443 of 654 20 #521 of 654
Shareholder Returns 53 #190 of 401 – 80 #83 of 401
Overall 68 66 61
  • PAHC ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ELAN ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK 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

PeriodPAHCELANMRKSPY
1 month +1.1%+11.0%+0.3% -2.0%
3 months +2.9%-4.0%+13.0% -2.2%
6 months -33.1%+6.9%+27.9% +4.2%
Year to date +0.8%+8.6%+37.5% +10.6%
1 year -13.2%+7.6%+75.4% +10.4%
3 years +205.1%+155.8%+39.9% +73.6%
3 years, per year +45.1%+36.8%+11.9% +20.2%
5 years +72.3%-25.2%+59.8% +61.6%
5 years, per year +11.5%-5.7%+9.8% +10.1%
10 years +44.5%—+147.6% +261.3%
10 years, per year +3.8%—+9.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePAHCELANMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.5%42.4%29.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 59.7%42.9%24.3% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.731.270.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.240.182.54 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.9%-76.3%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.8%-8.4%-7.5% -3.2%
52-week high $59.58$26.84$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $28.52$19.80$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.

MultiplePAHCELANMRK
P/E now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 18.4x -61.7xmedian 18.4x 112.6xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 9.0x 2.4xmedian 9.0x 5.4xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 16.0x 11.8xmedian 16.0x 30.8xmedian 16.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 154.7xmedian 21.8x 32.4xmedian 21.8x 22.2xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.1x 1.9xmedian 2.1x 8.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.34median 0.37 3.13median 0.37 70.89median 0.37

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 monthsPAHCELANMRK
Revenue $1.52B $5.02B $66.57B
Gross profit $512.52M $2.78B $48.57B
Operating income $194.40M $637.00M $6.38B
Net income $99.72M -$199.00M $3.17B
Free cash flow $9.87M $379.00M $16.06B
R&D – $371.00M $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $2.43 $-0.39 $1.28
Cash & equivalents $61.42M $530.00M $6.85B
Total debt $616.79M $3.92B $53.91B
Shares (diluted) 40.96M 505.90M 2.47B
Enterprise value $1.29B $10.55B $324.43B

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
MetricPAHCELANMRK
P/E 15.3x -61.7x 112.6x
P/FCF 154.7x 32.4x 22.2x
P/Operating cash flow 22.1x 19.9x 17.9x
P/S 1.0x 2.4x 5.4x
P/B 4.0x 1.9x 8.5x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 3.6x 21.0x
EV/EBITDA 8.1x 11.8x 30.8x
EV/EBIT 10.6x 24.6x 63.3x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 3.1x 6.1x
EV/FCF 208.9x 41.3x 25.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 29.9x 25.4x 20.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.34 3.13 70.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPAHCELANMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.1% 12.0% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.8% 5.1% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 28.1% 13.2% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 3.9% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.0% 22.0% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 39.3% 59.8% 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 106.6% -145.9% -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 45.2% -20.8% 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 105.2% -145.3% -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.6% -19.7% 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.9% 7.9% 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 73.0% 73.6% 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -76.4% 5.0% 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 31.2% 101.8% 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPAHCELANMRK
Gross margin 33.8% 55.4% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 16.8% 26.5% 19.7%
Operating margin 12.8% 12.7% 9.6%
Pretax margin 9.0% -3.3% 8.9%
Net margin 6.6% -4.0% 4.8%
FCF margin 0.6% 7.5% 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin 4.5% 12.3% 30.0%
Return on equity 26.7% -3.0% 7.2%
Return on assets 6.8% -1.5% 2.5%
Return on invested capital 14.2% 6.1% 3.6%
Return on capital employed 16.8% 5.5% 6.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x -3.1x 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.1% 1.5% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPAHCELANMRK
Debt / assets 41.1% 28.9% 41.5%
Debt / equity 1.6x 0.6x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.5x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 62.5x 10.3x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 74.3% 51.4% 67.7%
Equity / assets 25.7% 48.6% 32.3%
Interest coverage 4.2x 2.6x –
Current ratio 3.0x 2.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.9x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 3.08 1.54 3.88

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusPAHCELANMRK
Forward P/E 11.0xFY2027 22.6xFY2026 58.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.42FY2027 $1.09FY2026 $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.2%FY2027 +16.0%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.6% +23.9% +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.53BFY2027 $4.79BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2027 +1.6%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -0.2% +19.7% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPAHCELANMRK
Held by institutions 99.1% 100.0% 79.9%
Institutions holding 210 526 3,802
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% +4.4% +2.6%
Institutions buying 117 246 1,843
Institutions selling 75 211 1,468
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.17 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.

PAHCELANMRK
PAHC 1.00 0.50 0.23
ELAN 0.50 1.00 0.22
MRK 0.23 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PAHC, ELAN and MRK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) $1.61B, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) $12.55B, Merck (MRK) $370.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, PAHC, ELAN and MRK?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 16.1x, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -63.1x, Merck (MRK) 116.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) is cheapest (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 11.0x, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 22.6x, Merck (MRK) 58.3x). 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: Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +17.1%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +12.0%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) has the highest net margin (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 6.6%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -4.0%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) leads (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 14.2%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 6.1%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) -13.2%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) +7.6%, Merck (MRK) +75.4%. Over five years, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) compounded fastest (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) +11.5%/yr, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) -5.7%/yr, Merck (MRK) +9.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Merck (MRK) has been the steadiest (Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) 55.5%, Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 42.4%, Merck (MRK) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PAHC, ELAN 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, Phibro Animal Health (PAHC) leads on 8. 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.