ABBV vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of AbbVie Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. β€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-04-11.
AbbVie Inc. Β· Healthcare
$208.05
+4.5% upside to fair value
Grade C High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. Β· Healthcare
$121.42
-2.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
ABBV has more upside to fair value (+4.5%). MRK trades at a lower forward P/E (14.0x). These are model outputs β€” not personalized investment advice. See all research β†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric ABBV MRK
Current Price $208.05 $121.42
Fair Value Estimate $217.50 $118.00
Upside to Fair Value +4.5% -2.9%
Market Cap $367.9B $300.2B
Forward P/E 14.9x 14.0x
EV / EBITDA 16.7x 11.8x
Price / Sales 6.1x 4.1x
Price / FCF 20.9x 21.4x
Revenue Growth YoY +8.6% +1.3%
Gross Margin 83.7% 81.5%
Operating Margin 34.7% 41.2%
Return on Equity -129.24% 34.7%
Dividend Yield 3.2% 3.1%
FCF Yield 4.78% 4.7%
Analyst Consensus Buy Buy
Investment Thesis
ABBV β€” AbbVie Inc.
AbbVie is a leading diversified biopharmaceutical company navigating the post-Humira transition with strong momentum from Skyrizi and Rinvoq in immunology and continued growth in neuroscience. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $61.2 billion with a gross margin of 83.7% and operating margin of 34.7%, demonstrating operational strength despite the ongoing Humira erosion. Management guides to $67 billi…
MRK β€” Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck is a top-5 global pharmaceutical company generating $65B in annual revenue with 81.5% gross margins and 28% net margins. Keytruda, the world's best-selling drug at $31.7B (49% of pharma revenue), faces patent expiry in 2028. Merck is aggressively building replacements through M&A and pipeline launches: Winrevair ($1.4B year one), Capvaxive ($759M), and the $6.7B Terns acquisition for TERN-7…
Accumulation Zones
Metric ABBV MRK
Zone Low $163.13 $88.00
Zone High $184.88 $100.00
In Buy Zone? No No
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