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 2026-09-25.
Johnson & Johnson · Healthcare
$270.68
+5.7% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
JNJ has more upside to fair value
(+5.7%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
JNJ |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$270.68 |
$147.17 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$286.05 |
$141.07 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+5.7%
|
-4.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$652.3B |
$363.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
20.2x
|
29.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.7x
|
5.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
35.3x
|
22.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+6.6%
|
+5.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
67.9%
|
75.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
26.8%
|
16.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
25.7%
|
6.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
1.95% |
2.31% |
| FCF Yield |
2.83%
|
4.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Johnson & Johnson is a 141,700-employee healthcare holding company operating two segments, Innovative Medicine (immunology, oncology, neuroscience, infectious disease, cardiovascular and metabolism, pulmonary hypertension) and MedTech (interventional solutions, orthopaedics, surgery, vision), founded in 1887 and headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Business quality is high on fundamentals:…
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 |
JNJ |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$214.54 |
$105.80 |
| Zone High |
$243.14 |
$119.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|