COP vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of ConocoPhillips and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-07-08.
ConocoPhillips · Energy
$108.44
-21.6% upside to fair value
Grade D
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$113.87
-12.1% upside to fair value
Grade D
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(-12.1%).
COP trades at a lower forward P/E
(18.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COP |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$108.44 |
$113.87 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$85.04 |
$100.14 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-21.6%
|
-12.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$132.1B |
$281.2B |
| Forward P/E |
18.4x
|
32.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
6.1x
|
17.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
2.3x
|
4.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
8.6x
|
19.9x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
-2.5%
|
+4.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
29.2%
|
75.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
18.3%
|
27.6%
|
| Return on Equity |
11.3%
|
17.9%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
11.64%
|
5.02%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
ConocoPhillips is a major player in the Energy sector focused on Oil & Gas Exploration & Production. The company demonstrates medium business quality with a stable competitive position but faces earnings pressure as reflected in a 23.4% decline in earnings and a 2.5% decline in revenue in the most recent quarter year-over-year. Despite a solid ROE of 11.3% and attractive margins (gross margin 29.…
Merck & Co., Inc. is a leading global healthcare company specializing in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and animal health products. Its business quality is high, supported by a durable competitive moat anchored in the dominant global position of Keytruda in PD-1/PD-L1 oncology, a strong vaccines portfolio including Gardasil, and scale in R&D and manufacturing. The company benefits from a seasoned lea…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
COP |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$63.78 |
$75.11 |
| Zone High |
$72.28 |
$85.12 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|