Equity

Is Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) undervalued?

$145.55+1.13% todayNYSE · USD · last traded 2026-09-14 17:20 UTC

Merck & Co., Inc. trades on a P/E of 19.99 against earnings growth of 8.4% a year over the last 3 years, giving a PEG ratio of 2.37 — above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth.

Earnings figures are measured from MRK’s filed annual accounts, not estimated. PEG compares price to earnings growth alone — it says nothing about debt, cash generation, or what an acquirer would pay. Read it alongside the figures below rather than on its own.

PEG ratio2.37
01.02.03.0+
Convention reads below 1.0 as inexpensive relative to growth and above 2.0 as expensive, though typical ranges differ sharply by sector.
P/E ratio19.99
earnings growth (3-year CAGR)8.4%
PEG ratio2.37
Measured from MRK's filed annual accounts. Trailing, not forecast.
01

What it would cost to buy MRK

Enterprise value is what it would cost to take the whole company: every share at today’s price, plus the debt an acquirer assumes, less the cash they receive. For Merck & Co., Inc. that is $406.15B.

Every term below is a line item from a filed statement. The numbers beside each one open the filing it came from — balance-sheet figures arrive already scaled, so there is no “in thousands” to catch you out.

2.47B shares · 10-Q cover page

market capitalisation$359.10B
total debt$53.90B
cash & equivalents$6.85B
enterprise value$406.15B
Balance-sheet terms as reported to 2026-06-30.
Enterprise-value multiples for Merck & Co., Inc.
MeasureValue
Diluted earnings per shareto 2025-12-31$7.28
P/E ratioto 2025-12-3120.0
Earnings growth (3-year CAGR)to 2025-12-318.4%
PEG ratioto 2025-12-312.4
Market capitalisationto 2026-07-31$359.10B
Total debtto 2026-06-30$53.90B
Net debtto 2026-06-30$46.76B
Enterprise valueto 2026-06-30$406.15B
EBITDA
Free cash flowto 2025-12-31$12.36B
EV / EBITDA
EV / Salesto 2025-12-316.2×
Free cash flow yieldto 2025-12-313.4%
Net debt / EBITDA
Return on capital employed

Earnings growth is measured across Merck & Co., Inc.’s own filed annual accounts. PEG conventionally uses forecast growth from analyst estimates; filings contain only history, so this is trailing growth and will read differently from a PEG quoted elsewhere.

Not shown, and why

EBITDA
operating income not reported for a full year.
EV / EBITDA
operating income not reported for a full year.
Net debt / EBITDA
operating income not reported for a full year.
Return on capital employed
operating income not reported for a full year.
02

Against the sector

MRK against 10 listed companies sharing its classification — Pharmaceutical Preparations. A multiple means little on its own; the column that matters is the gap. See what pharmaceutical companies trade on.

MRK compared with the median of 10 sector peers
MeasureMRKSector medianDifference
EV / Sales*6.2×5.4×+0.9×
Free cash flow margin19.0%24.1%5.1%
Compared against

ABBV, ABT, BMY, JNJ, LLY, PFE, REGN, VRTX, VTRS, ZTS.

Medians are taken across peers where the measure could be computed, so the sample differs by row. Green marks the direction conventionally read as cheaper or stronger — it is a direction, not a recommendation. * Price-based multiples move with the market; peer figures are a snapshot taken 2026-09-09. The remaining rows come from filed statements and hold until the next reporting season.

03

Market ratios

Price-based ratios from market data. Anything drawn from a filed statement is in the enterprise-value section above, with its source.

Valuation and financial-health metrics for Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
MetricValue
Price$145.55
PEGY ratio
Dividend yield2.34%
Price / book
Price / sales
Return on equity7.0%
Profit margin
Operating margin
Debt / equity128.55
Current ratio
Beta0.23
52-week range$77.58 – $156.92

Not reported for MRK: pegy ratio, price / book, price / sales, profit margin, operating margin, current ratio. A dash means the figure was not available from the source, not that it is zero.

04

Compare and chart

Compare MRK vs Competitors

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05

About MRK’s valuation

What is the PEG ratio for Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)?
Merck & Co., Inc. has a PEG ratio of 2.37, from a P/E of 19.99 and earnings growth of 8.4% a year measured across 3 years of filed accounts. That is above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth. Note that PEG is conventionally quoted against forecast growth; this uses reported history, so it will differ from a PEG you see elsewhere.
Is MRK undervalued right now?
That depends on the measure. On PEG, MRK reads 2.37, above the 2.0 level conventionally read as expensive relative to growth. The PEG ratio compares price to earnings growth alone — it ignores debt, cash generation and asset backing, so it is a starting point rather than a conclusion. The enterprise-value measures above account for debt and cash; they often tell a different story.
What is the PEGY ratio for MRK?
The PEGY ratio for Merck & Co., Inc. is —. PEGY adds the dividend yield of 2.34% to the growth rate in the denominator, which gives a fairer reading of companies returning cash as income rather than growth.
Where do these MRK figures come from?
Market price and capitalisation come from live market data; earnings, growth and dividend figures come from Merck & Co., Inc.'s published financial statements. Every derived ratio on this page shows the arithmetic that produced it.

This page describes published financial data. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation to buy or sell MRK.