HON vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Honeywell International Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-07-14.
Honeywell International Inc. · Industrials
$222.25
-5.5% upside to fair value
Grade D High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$113.87
-12.1% upside to fair value
Grade D High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
HON has more upside to fair value (-5.5%). HON trades at a lower forward P/E (15.7x). These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice. See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric HON MRK
Current Price $222.25 $113.87
Fair Value Estimate $210.05 $100.14
Upside to Fair Value -5.5% -12.1%
Market Cap $70.4B $281.2B
Forward P/E 15.7x 32.0x
EV / EBITDA 13.1x 17.3x
Price / Sales 1.9x 4.3x
Price / FCF 17.1x 19.9x
Revenue Growth YoY -6.9% +4.3%
Gross Margin 36.9% 75.9%
Operating Margin 14.9% 27.6%
Return on Equity 23.6% 17.9%
Dividend Yield 0% 0%
FCF Yield 5.84% 5.02%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Hold
Investment Thesis
HON — Honeywell International Inc.
Honeywell International Inc. operates as a diversified industrial conglomerate with a strong presence in multiple sectors including aerospace, building technologies, and performance materials. The company demonstrates high business quality with a durable competitive moat supported by strong margins, a 23.6% return on equity, and solid free cash flow generation of $16.78 per share. However, recent…
MRK — Merck & Co., Inc.
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 HON MRK
Zone Low $157.54 $75.11
Zone High $178.54 $85.12
In Buy Zone? No No
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