JNJ vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-20.
Johnson & Johnson · Healthcare
$230.69
+10.8% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$114.27
+3.3% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
JNJ has more upside to fair value
(+10.8%).
MRK trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
JNJ |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$230.69 |
$114.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$255.61 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+10.8%
|
+3.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$555.9B |
$282.2B |
| Forward P/E |
26.8x
|
22.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
18.5x
|
13.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.8x
|
4.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
28.2x
|
20.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+9.9%
|
+5.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
69.1%
|
81.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
26.9%
|
27.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
26.5%
|
5.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.91% |
| FCF Yield |
3.54%
|
4.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Overweight
|
Investment Thesis
Johnson & Johnson is a leading healthcare company focused on pharmaceuticals and medical devices following its consumer health spin-off. The business quality is high due to its durable competitive moat, diversified portfolio, and strong management with deep institutional knowledge. Despite a 52.4% decline in earnings in the most recent quarter, revenue grew 9.9% year-over-year in the same period,…
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 |
JNJ |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$191.71 |
$88.50 |
| Zone High |
$217.27 |
$100.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|