Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

FairStock Score: 41/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look for durable businesses at sensible prices. Merck is a global healthcare company with a broad portfolio of branded medicines and vaccines—Keytruda, Gardasil, and others—plus animal health. That gives it scale and recurring demand, a modest moat. But the recent record is noisy. In fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended June 30, 2026, revenue was $16.6B and net income was -$1.3B, or EPS -$0.54. In fiscal Q1 2026, the quarter ended March 31, 2026, revenue was $16.3B, net income was -$4.2B, or EPS -$1.72. That follows fiscal 2025, the year ended December 31, 2025, with revenue $65.0B, net income $18.3B, and EPS $7.28. The trailing figures leave FairStock's P/E at 113.58, P/B at 8.36, and EV/EBITDA at 27.58 at the 2026-10-13 close. FairStock's Graham Number is $21.86, so the margin of safety is -549.50%. That is not a Graham bargain. Still, trailing free cash flow is $16.1B, a 4.6% FCF yield; dividend yield is 2.31%; Altman Z is 3.28; Piotroski is 6/9; and D/E is 1.28. The computed Lynch category is STALWART, citing 20.9% annual profit growth over five years and 9.4% revenue growth. That label points to a steady grower, yet the current losses make reported earnings unreliable. At this price, I see a good business with impaired earnings; I would want evidence of normalized profits before treating it as cheap.

In plain English: Merck makes prescription medicines and vaccines, including Keytruda and Gardasil, and also animal health products. It sells a lot and generates cash, but its recent quarters have lost money, so the business picture is mixed. At $141.98, the shares look expensive compared with those recent profits and the company's underlying value.

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Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-06-30) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-12-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-12-31) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2023-12-31)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer