Merck vs Pfizer
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The short version
- Merck is the larger business, with $65.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $62.6B for Pfizer.
- Merck grew revenue faster (1.3%, against −1.7%).
- Merck turned more of its sales into free cash flow (19.0% FCF margin, against 14.5%).
- Merck earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (24.8%, against 7.3%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Merck’s earnings: a P/E of 115.3x against 39.5x for Pfizer.
| Latest fiscal year | MRK · FY25 | PFE · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $358.8B | $171.1B |
| Revenue | $65.0B | $62.6B |
| Free cash flow | $12.4B | $9.1B |
| Net income | $18.3B | $7.8B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 1.3% | −1.7% |
| 5-year growth | 9.4% | 8.5% |
| Share count change | −1.3% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 74.8% | 74.3% |
| Operating margin | — | — |
| Net margin | 28.1% | 12.4% |
| FCF margin | 19.0% | 14.5% |
| Return on capital | 24.8% | 7.3% |
| Return on equity | 36.9% | 8.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $34.5B | $54.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.2x | 3.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $13.3B | $9.8B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 115.3x | 39.5x |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
MRK $39.8B
PFE $52.8B
FY17
MRK $40.1B
PFE $52.5B
FY18
MRK $42.3B
PFE $40.8B
FY19
MRK $39.1B
PFE $40.9B
FY20
MRK $41.5B
PFE $41.7B
FY21
MRK $48.7B
PFE $81.3B
FY22
MRK $59.3B
PFE $101.2B
FY23
MRK $60.1B
PFE $59.6B
FY24
MRK $64.2B
PFE $63.6B
FY25
MRK $65.0B
PFE $62.6B
MRK
PFE
Operating margin
FY16
MRK —
PFE —
FY17
MRK —
PFE —
FY18
MRK —
PFE —
FY19
MRK —
PFE —
FY20
MRK —
PFE —
FY21
MRK —
PFE —
FY22
MRK —
PFE —
FY23
MRK —
PFE —
FY24
MRK —
PFE —
FY25
MRK —
PFE —
MRK
PFE
Free cash flow
FY16
MRK $8.8B
PFE $14.4B
FY17
MRK $4.6B
PFE $14.8B
FY18
MRK $8.3B
PFE $13.8B
FY19
MRK $10.1B
PFE $10.5B
FY20
MRK $5.8B
PFE $12.2B
FY21
MRK $8.7B
PFE $29.9B
FY22
MRK $14.7B
PFE $26.0B
FY23
MRK $9.1B
PFE $4.8B
FY24
MRK $18.1B
PFE $9.8B
FY25
MRK $12.4B
PFE $9.1B
MRK
PFE
Return on capital
FY16
MRK 8.4%
PFE 11.0%
FY17
MRK 7.2%
PFE 15.6%
FY18
MRK —
PFE 5.4%
FY19
MRK —
PFE 12.8%
FY20
MRK 12.1%
PFE 9.9%
FY21
MRK 24.2%
PFE 32.0%
FY22
MRK 24.3%
PFE 32.0%
FY23
MRK 2.4%
PFE 2.5%
FY24
MRK 27.0%
PFE 7.6%
FY25
MRK 24.8%
PFE 7.3%
MRK
PFE
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.