INTC vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Intel Corp. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-25.
Intel Corp. · Technology
$127.39
-8.4% upside to fair value
Low Conviction
Grade D
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(-4.1%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
INTC |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$127.39 |
$147.17 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$116.75 |
$141.07 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-8.4%
|
-4.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$642.6B |
$363.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
185.2x
|
29.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
11.3x
|
5.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
229.7x
|
22.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+25.4%
|
+5.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
38.9%
|
75.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
0.1%
|
16.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
-10.8%
|
6.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.31% |
| FCF Yield |
0.44%
|
4.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Intel designs and manufactures CPUs, GPUs, networking silicon, and edge and data-center products across its Client Computing, Data Center and AI, and Intel Foundry segments, employing roughly 85,100 people under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The business quality is currently low: TTM gross margin is 38.9%, TTM operating margin is 0.1%, TTM net margin is -19.8%, and ROE is -10.8%, so the company is not earning …
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global healthcare leader with two core divisions, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health, spanning oncology, vaccines, acute hospital care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes, and it employs roughly 74,000 people under CEO Robert Davis. The business quality is medium: TTM gross margin of 75.4% and TTM operating margin of 16.7% reflect a genuinely hig…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
INTC |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$87.56 |
$105.80 |
| Zone High |
$99.24 |
$119.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|