KO vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of The Coca-Cola Company and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-18.
The Coca-Cola Company · Consumer Defensive
$88.71
+15.5% 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
KO has more upside to fair value
(+15.5%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
KO |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$88.71 |
$147.17 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$102.44 |
$141.07 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+15.5%
|
-4.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$381.7B |
$363.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
20.8x
|
29.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
7.6x
|
5.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
26.7x
|
22.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+6.7%
|
+5.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
61.9%
|
75.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
29.6%
|
16.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
43.0%
|
6.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.37% |
2.31% |
| FCF Yield |
3.75%
|
4.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
The Coca-Cola Company is a global non-alcoholic beverage concentrate, brand-management and bottling-system business with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories, supported by powerful trademarks, 2.2 billion daily servings and an entrenched distribution network. Business quality is high: TTM gross, operating and net margins are 61.9%, 29.6% and 28.6%, respectively, ROE is 43.0%, …
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 |
KO |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$76.83 |
$105.80 |
| Zone High |
$87.07 |
$119.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|