INTC vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Intel Corporation and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-20.
Intel Corporation · Technology
$82.54
-5.4% upside to fair value
Grade D
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$114.27
+3.3% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(+3.3%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
INTC |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$82.54 |
$114.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$78.09 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-5.4%
|
+3.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$414.4B |
$282.2B |
| Forward P/E |
-132.2x
|
22.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
50.1x
|
13.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
7.7x
|
4.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
-132.9x
|
20.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+7.2%
|
+5.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
35.4%
|
81.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
-9.4%
|
27.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
-3.0%
|
5.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.91% |
| FCF Yield |
—
|
4.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Overweight
|
Investment Thesis
Intel Corporation is a leading semiconductor company transitioning to a foundry business model while maintaining significant revenue from client computing and data center segments. Despite a strong market position and experienced leadership, the company faces earnings pressure with a 354% decline in earnings in the most recent quarter and negative margins. The stock trades at $82.54, which is 5.4…
Merck delivered a clean Q1 2026 operational beat on April 30, with revenue of 16.3 billion dollars growing 5 percent year over year and Keytruda sales rising 12 percent to 8.0 billion dollars. The reported loss of 1.28 dollars per share, though better than the negative 1.47 dollar consensus estimate, reflected a 3.62 dollar per share IPR and D charge tied to the Cidara Therapeutics acquisition an…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
INTC |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$58.57 |
$88.50 |
| Zone High |
$66.38 |
$100.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|