Merck (MRK) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2009 - 2026)
Merck (MRK) recorded Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] of 6.28% in Q2 2026, down 14.85 percentage points from 21.14% a year earlier and down 5.01 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Merck (MRK) Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Merck reported Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] of 21.51%, down 2.35 percentage points from FY2024.
- Annual Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] has a five-year change of +13.31 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Across earlier years, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] came in at 23.86% in FY2024 (-9.45 pp), 33.31% in FY2023 (+11.74 pp), 21.57% in FY2022 (+4.80 pp) and 16.77% in FY2021 (+8.57 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure is the lowest quarterly Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] since Q2 2021.
- On a year-over-year basis, Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] has declined for three consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of +1.17 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] in the last five years was a gain of 17.12 percentage points in Q2 2022, against a drop of 15.28 percentage points in Q2 2023 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three quarters came in at 11.30% (Q1 2026), 20.23% (Q4 2025) and 22.83% (Q3 2025).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROCE (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli Lilly | 1,076.25 Bn | 1,044.84 Bn | 19.71 Bn | 46.74% |
| 2 | Johnson & Johnson | 617.18 Bn | 535.70 Bn | 17.26 Bn | 17.83% |
| 3 | AbbVie | 464.58 Bn | 437.73 Bn | 12.70 Bn | 17.92% |
| 4 | Merck | 356.04 Bn | 310.47 Bn | 12.21 Bn | 6.28% |
| 5 | Novartis Ag | 269.07 Bn | 224.94 Bn | 11.24 Bn | 19.32% |
| 6 | Astrazeneca | 243.21 Bn | 216.77 Bn | 12.86 Bn | 9.54% |
| 7 | Amgen | 217.88 Bn | 173.28 Bn | 7.24 Bn | 16.66% |
| 8 | Gilead Sciences | 179.62 Bn | 153.74 Bn | 6.22 Bn | -5.97% |
| 9 | Pfizer | 158.45 Bn | 105.40 Bn | 10.94 Bn | 11.86% |
| 10 | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 127.87 Bn | 99.88 Bn | 2.84 Bn | 20.76% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | 6.28% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 11.30% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 20.23% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 22.83% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 21.14% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 22.15% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 22.40% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 20.79% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 23.55% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 10.32% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 8.00% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 9.41% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 7.28% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 18.88% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 21.39% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 21.50% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 22.56% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 18.57% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 16.56% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 9.02% |
API Access
Merck Return on Capital Employed [ROCE] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=MRK&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-capital-employed-[roce]", "ticker": "MRK", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-capital-employed-%5Broce%5D&ticker=MRK&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();