GS vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. · Financial Services
$907.80
-3.1% upside to fair value
Low Conviction
Grade C+
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 |
GS |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$907.80 |
$121.42 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$880.00 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-3.1%
|
-2.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$269.4B |
$300.2B |
| Forward P/E |
15.6x
|
14.0x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.7x
|
11.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
2.1x
|
4.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
—
|
21.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.0%
|
+1.3%
|
| Gross Margin |
47.5%
|
81.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
41.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
13.8%
|
34.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
1.71% |
3.1% |
| FCF Yield |
—
|
4.7%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Goldman Sachs remains the premier global investment bank with dominant franchises in M&A advisory, equities trading, and asset management. FY2025 delivered $58.3B net revenues, 15% ROE, and $51.32 diluted EPS, powered by record equities trading and a resurgent IB pipeline. The stock has pulled back 8% from January highs near $985 but still trades at 2.27x book value, well above the 5-year median …
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 |
GS |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$600.00 |
$88.00 |
| Zone High |
$680.00 |
$100.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|