Eli Lilly vs Merck
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The short version
- Eli Lilly is the larger business, with $65.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $65.0B for Merck.
- Eli Lilly grew revenue faster (44.7%, against 1.3%).
- Merck turned more of its sales into free cash flow (19.0% FCF margin, against 13.8%).
- Eli Lilly earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (40.8%, against 24.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Merck’s earnings: a P/E of 115.3x against 42.7x for Eli Lilly.
| Latest fiscal year | LLY · FY25 | MRK · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $1.14T | $358.8B |
| Revenue | $65.2B | $65.0B |
| Free cash flow | $9.0B | $12.4B |
| Net income | $20.6B | $18.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 44.7% | 1.3% |
| 5-year growth | 21.6% | 9.4% |
| Share count change | −0.5% | −1.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 83.0% | 74.8% |
| Operating margin | — | — |
| Net margin | 31.7% | 28.1% |
| FCF margin | 13.8% | 19.0% |
| Return on capital | 40.8% | 24.8% |
| Return on equity | 101.2% | 36.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $33.6B | $34.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.2x | 1.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $9.5B | $13.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 42.7x | 115.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 4 |
Revenue
FY16
LLY $21.2B
MRK $39.8B
FY17
LLY $20.0B
MRK $40.1B
FY18
LLY $21.5B
MRK $42.3B
FY19
LLY $22.3B
MRK $39.1B
FY20
LLY $24.5B
MRK $41.5B
FY21
LLY $28.3B
MRK $48.7B
FY22
LLY $28.5B
MRK $59.3B
FY23
LLY $34.1B
MRK $60.1B
FY24
LLY $45.0B
MRK $64.2B
FY25
LLY $65.2B
MRK $65.0B
LLY
MRK
Operating margin
FY16
LLY —
MRK —
FY17
LLY —
MRK —
FY18
LLY —
MRK —
FY19
LLY —
MRK —
FY20
LLY —
MRK —
FY21
LLY —
MRK —
FY22
LLY —
MRK —
FY23
LLY —
MRK —
FY24
LLY —
MRK —
FY25
LLY —
MRK —
LLY
MRK
Free cash flow
FY16
LLY $3.8B
MRK $8.8B
FY17
LLY $4.5B
MRK $4.6B
FY18
LLY $4.3B
MRK $8.3B
FY19
LLY $3.8B
MRK $10.1B
FY20
LLY $5.1B
MRK $5.8B
FY21
LLY $6.1B
MRK $8.7B
FY22
LLY $5.7B
MRK $14.7B
FY23
LLY $792M
MRK $9.1B
FY24
LLY $3.8B
MRK $18.1B
FY25
LLY $9.0B
MRK $12.4B
LLY
MRK
Return on capital
FY16
LLY 15.8%
MRK 8.4%
FY17
LLY 7.3%
MRK 7.2%
FY18
LLY 22.8%
MRK —
FY19
LLY 34.9%
MRK —
FY20
LLY 38.4%
MRK 12.1%
FY21
LLY 29.1%
MRK 24.2%
FY22
LLY 28.0%
MRK 24.3%
FY23
LLY 19.4%
MRK 2.4%
FY24
LLY 28.9%
MRK 27.0%
FY25
LLY 40.8%
MRK 24.8%
LLY
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.