Merck & Co., Inc. vs VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC / MA, two Drug Manufacturers stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
35.51 against 13.59: the net margins of Vertex and Merck, the specialist keeping nearly three times as much of every revenue dollar as the oncology giant. Vertex owns cystic-fibrosis therapy outright and spends from strength, debt-free with a 3 current ratio; Merck funds its post-Keytruda succession with a full turn of leverage and pays a 2.6% dividend meanwhile. The multiples run against the margins, 36.2 times for Merck against 29.2 for Vertex, seven turns of premium for the company earning far less per dollar. What Merck's price buys is pipeline breadth and oncology scale; what Vertex's price discounts is concentration in one disease. The margin table and the price table tell opposite stories, and only one of them is arithmetic.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | MRK | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $128.37 | $491.10 |
| Market cap | $317.3B | $125.9B |
| Sector | Drug Manufacturers | Drug Manufacturers |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +19.8% |
| P/E | 36.2 | 29.1 |
| P/B | 6.91 | 6.50 |
| P/S | 4.83 | 10.30 |
| EV/EBITDA | 621.5 | 24.6 |
| Revenue growth | +2.9% | +10.1% |
| Operating margin | — | 38.1% |
| Net margin | 13.6% | 35.5% |
| Return on equity | 19.4% | 22.4% |
| Return on assets | 6.9% | 16.4% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 19.9% |
| FCF yield | 4.5% | 3.0% |
| Dividend yield | 2.6% | — |
| Debt / equity | 1.07 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.30 | 3.02 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.31 | 7.73 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.