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 2026-04-11.
ConocoPhillips · Energy
$122.55
-21.4% upside to fair value
Grade D
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$121.42
-2.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(-2.9%).
MRK trades at a lower forward P/E
(14.0x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
COP |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$122.55 |
$121.42 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$96.36 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-21.4%
|
-2.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$149.8B |
$300.2B |
| Forward P/E |
19.3x
|
14.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
5.8x
|
11.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
2.5x
|
4.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
8.9x
|
21.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+7.5%
|
+1.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
24.6%
|
81.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
19.6%
|
41.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
12.39%
|
34.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
3.41% |
3.1% |
| FCF Yield |
10.9%
|
4.7%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
ConocoPhillips is the largest U.S. independent exploration and production company, operating approximately 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day across its Lower 48, Alaska, Canada, and international segments. The company completed its transformative $22.5 billion Marathon Oil acquisition in late 2024 and is on track for $2 billion in cost synergies by the end of 2026. Full-year 2025 reve…
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 |
COP |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$72.27 |
$88.00 |
| Zone High |
$81.91 |
$100.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|