AstraZeneca vs Merck
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The short version
- Merck is the larger business, with $65.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $58.7B for AstraZeneca.
- AstraZeneca grew revenue faster (8.6%, against 1.3%).
- AstraZeneca turned more of its sales into free cash flow (20.0% FCF margin, against 19.0%).
- Merck earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (24.8%, against 16.8%).
| Latest fiscal year | AZN · FY25 | MRK · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $267.9B | $358.8B |
| Revenue | $58.7B | $65.0B |
| Free cash flow | $11.8B | $12.4B |
| Net income | $10.2B | $18.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 8.6% | 1.3% |
| 5-year growth | 17.2% | 9.4% |
| Share count change | −0.1% | −1.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 81.9% | 74.8% |
| Operating margin | 23.4% | — |
| Net margin | 17.4% | 28.1% |
| FCF margin | 20.0% | 19.0% |
| Return on capital | 16.8% | 24.8% |
| Return on equity | 22.9% | 36.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $22.1B | $34.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 1.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $5.5B | $13.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 115.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 9 | 4 |
Revenue
FY16
AZN $23.0B
MRK $39.8B
FY17
AZN $22.5B
MRK $40.1B
FY18
AZN $22.1B
MRK $42.3B
FY19
AZN $24.4B
MRK $39.1B
FY20
AZN $26.6B
MRK $41.5B
FY21
AZN $37.4B
MRK $48.7B
FY22
AZN $44.4B
MRK $59.3B
FY23
AZN $45.8B
MRK $60.1B
FY24
AZN $54.1B
MRK $64.2B
FY25
AZN $58.7B
MRK $65.0B
AZN
MRK
Operating margin
FY16
AZN 21.3%
MRK —
FY17
AZN 16.4%
MRK —
FY18
AZN 15.3%
MRK —
FY19
AZN 12.0%
MRK —
FY20
AZN 19.4%
MRK —
FY21
AZN 2.8%
MRK —
FY22
AZN 8.5%
MRK —
FY23
AZN 17.9%
MRK —
FY24
AZN 18.5%
MRK —
FY25
AZN 23.4%
MRK —
AZN
MRK
Free cash flow
FY16
AZN $2.7B
MRK $8.8B
FY17
AZN $2.3B
MRK $4.6B
FY18
AZN $1.6B
MRK $8.3B
FY19
AZN $2.0B
MRK $10.1B
FY20
AZN $3.8B
MRK $5.8B
FY21
AZN $4.9B
MRK $8.7B
FY22
AZN $8.7B
MRK $14.7B
FY23
AZN $9.0B
MRK $9.1B
FY24
AZN $9.9B
MRK $18.1B
FY25
AZN $11.8B
MRK $12.4B
AZN
MRK
Return on capital
FY16
AZN 17.3%
MRK 8.4%
FY17
AZN 12.8%
MRK 7.2%
FY18
AZN 11.8%
MRK —
FY19
AZN 8.7%
MRK —
FY20
AZN 15.6%
MRK 12.1%
FY21
AZN 1.9%
MRK 24.2%
FY22
AZN 6.2%
MRK 24.3%
FY23
AZN 11.8%
MRK 2.4%
FY24
AZN 13.0%
MRK 27.0%
FY25
AZN 16.8%
MRK 24.8%
AZN
MRK
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.