TAK vs MRK vs PFE Stock Comparison

Takeda Pharmaceutical, Merck and Pfizer Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$150.37 +7.8% 1M +79.3% 1Y
Market cap
$363.00B
P/E
114.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
PFE Pfizer Inc
$30.79 +12.3% 1M +26.7% 1Y
Market cap
$170.74B
P/E
42.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.63B
Div. yield
0.06%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Pfizer leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Pfizer 7, Merck 4, Takeda Pharmaceutical 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTAKMRKPFELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $66.88B $363.00B $170.74B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 211.8x 114.4x 42.3x PFE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 52.7x 60.6x 10.8x PFE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -35.4% +4.6% +1.3% MRK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 4.8% 6.3% PFE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% 3.6% 12.3% PFE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.8x 3.6x 1.9x PFE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.06% PFE
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +55.4% +79.3% +26.7% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +13.0%/yr -8.7%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.4% 29.9% 21.9% TAK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 61/100 68/100 PFE

Percentile Scorecard

TAKMRKPFE

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

AxisTAKMRKPFE
Valuation 96 #27 of 634 80 #130 of 634 95 #34 of 634
Growth 12 #533 of 607 37 #386 of 607 35 #394 of 607
Profitability 86 #79 of 557 91 #53 of 557 92 #45 of 557
Financial Health 33 #436 of 654 21 #520 of 654 27 #477 of 654
Shareholder Returns 72 #111 of 400 79 #83 of 400 90 #42 of 400
Overall 60 61 68
  • TAK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • PFE 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

PeriodTAKMRKPFESPY
1 month +18.2%+7.8%+12.3% -1.0%
3 months +25.9%+17.2%+19.3% -0.4%
6 months +26.0%+32.4%+16.1% +4.5%
Year to date +35.2%+42.9%+23.7% +12.4%
1 year +55.4%+79.3%+26.7% +13.6%
3 years +50.4%+45.5%-1.5% +76.4%
3 years, per year +14.6%+13.3%-0.5% +20.8%
5 years +47.9%+84.3%-36.7% +63.7%
5 years, per year +8.1%+13.0%-8.7% +10.4%
10 years -4.8%+155.6%+2.6% +267.7%
10 years, per year -0.5%+9.8%+0.3% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureTAKMRKPFESPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.4%29.9%21.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.1%24.3%21.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.050.130.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.592.661.22 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.4%-44.7%-64.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-3.9%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $21.07$156.45$30.79 $779.14
52-week low $13.56$83.86$23.67 $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.

MultipleTAKMRKPFE
P/E now vs peer median 210.2xmedian 18.0x 117.1xmedian 18.0x 43.5xmedian 18.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 9.1x 5.6xmedian 9.1x 2.8xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 16.2x 31.9xmedian 16.2x 8.6xmedian 16.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 21.7x 23.1xmedian 21.7x 14.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.2x 8.8xmedian 2.2x 2.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -3.62median 0.38 73.68median 0.38 -1.57median 0.38

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 monthsTAKMRKPFE
Revenue $30.00B $66.57B $63.63B
Gross profit $19.76B $48.57B $46.69B
Operating income $1.13B $6.38B $19.40B
Net income $244.16M $3.17B $4.06B
Free cash flow $4.55B $16.06B $11.79B
R&D $4.51B $30.45B $11.52B
EPS (diluted) $0.10 $1.28 $0.70
Cash & equivalents $2.66B $6.85B $1.82B
Total debt $31.49B $53.91B $62.67B
Shares (diluted) 3.15B 2.47B 5.75B
Enterprise value $45.09B $317.38B $118.10B

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
MetricTAKMRKPFE
P/E 210.2x 117.1x 43.5x
P/FCF 14.7x 23.1x 14.9x
P/Operating cash flow 11.9x 18.6x 12.4x
P/S 2.2x 5.6x 2.8x
P/B 1.4x 8.8x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 21.8x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 31.9x 8.6x
EV/EBIT 82.4x 65.5x 11.5x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 6.3x 3.5x
EV/FCF 20.5x 26.0x 19.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.6x 20.9x 15.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.62 73.68 -1.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTAKMRKPFE
Revenue growth (1Y) -35.4% 4.6% 1.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -13.1% 4.5% -3.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -36.3% -0.3% 1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.3% 4.5% 2.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) -76.7% -66.6% -4.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -43.6% 1.9% 7.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.2% -80.7% -58.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -44.1% 0.5% -27.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -86.9% -80.3% -59.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -58.1% 1.6% -27.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -30.2% 7.7% 8.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.9% 9.8% 5.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -31.3% 9.1% 13.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -8.4% 14.0% 13.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTAKMRKPFE
Gross margin 65.9% 73.0% 73.4%
EBITDA margin 18.2% 19.7% 40.7%
Operating margin 3.8% 9.6% 30.5%
Pretax margin 0.3% 8.9% 6.7%
Net margin 1.1% 4.8% 6.3%
FCF margin 15.2% 24.1% 18.5%
Operating cash flow margin 18.7% 30.0% 22.3%
Return on equity 0.7% 7.2% 4.7%
Return on assets 0.3% 2.5% 2.0%
Return on invested capital 0.0% 3.6% 12.3%
Return on capital employed 1.2% 6.3% 11.3%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 23.0x 6.3x 3.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 1.3% 1.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTAKMRKPFE
Debt / assets 32.5% 41.5% 30.6%
Debt / equity 0.7x 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.8x 3.6x 1.9x
Debt / FCF 6.9x 3.4x 5.3x
Liabilities / assets 51.4% 67.7% 56.4%
Equity / assets 48.6% 32.3% 43.6%
Interest coverage 0.6x – –
Current ratio 3.1x 1.3x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.8x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 1.39 3.97 2.40

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTAKMRKPFE
Dividend yield 1.5% 2.3% 5.6%
Net buyback yield 1.0% 1.1% –
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.3% 5.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 261.8% 241.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 51.7% 83.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 3.3% 0.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 2.2%

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.

ConsensusTAKMRKPFE
Forward P/E 52.7xFY2026 60.6xFY2026 10.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.40FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $2.85FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.3%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026 -11.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +62.5% +257.3% -4.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $28.27BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $60.59BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.8%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 -3.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.9% -3.8% +3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTAKMRKPFE
Held by institutions 65.5% 79.9% 66.9%
Institutions holding 380 3,803 2,841
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.2% +2.6% +2.0%
Institutions buying 214 1,844 1,327
Institutions selling 98 1,468 1,205
Buyers to sellers 2.18 1.26 1.10

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.

TAKMRKPFE
TAK 1.00 0.42 0.45
MRK 0.42 1.00 0.47
PFE 0.45 0.47 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TAK, MRK and PFE?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) $66.88B, Merck (MRK) $363.00B, Pfizer (PFE) $170.74B.

Which stock is cheaper, TAK, MRK and PFE?

Pfizer (PFE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 211.8x, Merck (MRK) 114.4x, Pfizer (PFE) 42.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pfizer (PFE) is cheapest (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 52.7x, Merck (MRK) 60.6x, Pfizer (PFE) 10.8x). 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: Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) -35.4%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Pfizer (PFE) +1.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Pfizer (PFE) has the highest net margin (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 1.1%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Pfizer (PFE) 6.3%). On return on invested capital, Pfizer (PFE) leads (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 0.0%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%, Pfizer (PFE) 12.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) +55.4%, Merck (MRK) +79.3%, Pfizer (PFE) +26.7%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) +8.1%/yr, Merck (MRK) +13.0%/yr, Pfizer (PFE) -8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Pfizer (PFE) has the highest dividend yield: Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Pfizer (PFE) 0.06%. Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) has been the steadiest (Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) 21.4%, Merck (MRK) 29.9%, Pfizer (PFE) 21.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TAK, MRK and PFE?

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