COST vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Costco Wholesale Corporation and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Costco Wholesale Corporation · Consumer Defensive
$1,002.88
-35.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
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 |
COST |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$1,002.88 |
$121.42 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$648.03 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-35.4%
|
-2.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$444.9B |
$300.2B |
| Forward P/E |
52.1x
|
14.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
31.0x
|
11.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.6x
|
4.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
49.0x
|
21.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+3.4%
|
+1.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
12.9%
|
81.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
3.8%
|
41.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
28.8%
|
34.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
3.1% |
| FCF Yield |
2.04%
|
4.7%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global membership-based warehouse club model with over 900 warehouses across 14 countries, generating $254 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by scale advantages, a loyal membership base with high renewal rates, and superior employee retention through better wages and benefits. Despite steady revenue …
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 |
COST |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$486.02 |
$88.00 |
| Zone High |
$550.83 |
$100.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|