CAT vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-21.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
CAT has more upside to fair value
(-2.2%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$147.17 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$141.07 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
-4.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$363.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
29.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
5.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
22.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+5.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
75.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
16.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
6.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
2.31% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
4.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Caterpillar is the world's premier manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas power units, and industrial gas turbines, organized across Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation, and Financial Products, with 118,000 employees and a century-old brand. Business quality is high: return on equity of 54.1%, TTM operating margin of 17.5%…
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global healthcare leader with two core divisions, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health, spanning oncology, vaccines, acute hospital care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes, and it employs roughly 74,000 people under CEO Robert Davis. The business quality is medium: TTM gross margin of 75.4% and TTM operating margin of 16.7% reflect a genuinely hig…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$105.80 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$119.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|