AMAT vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-20.
Applied Materials, Inc. · Technology
$406.91
-12.0% upside to fair value
Grade B-
High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$114.27
+3.3% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(+3.3%).
MRK trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AMAT |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$406.91 |
$114.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$358.00 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-12.0%
|
+3.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$322.9B |
$282.2B |
| Forward P/E |
30.3x
|
22.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
30.2x
|
13.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
10.2x
|
4.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
51.6x
|
20.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+11.0%
|
+5.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
49.9%
|
81.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
31.9%
|
27.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
47.0%
|
5.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.45% |
2.91% |
| FCF Yield |
1.94%
|
4.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Overweight
|
Investment Thesis
Applied Materials is the world's leading semiconductor and display equipment company, and the May 14 Q2 fiscal 2026 print materially strengthened the operating story. Revenue grew 11 percent year over year to a record $7.91 billion, non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.86 beat consensus of $2.68, and management guided Q3 to a record $8.95 billion in revenue with non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.36 …
Merck delivered a clean Q1 2026 operational beat on April 30, with revenue of 16.3 billion dollars growing 5 percent year over year and Keytruda sales rising 12 percent to 8.0 billion dollars. The reported loss of 1.28 dollars per share, though better than the negative 1.47 dollar consensus estimate, reflected a 3.62 dollar per share IPR and D charge tied to the Cidara Therapeutics acquisition an…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AMAT |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$268.50 |
$88.50 |
| Zone High |
$304.30 |
$100.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|