MAR vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Marriott International, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-18.
Marriott International, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$334.97
+20.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MAR has more upside to fair value
(+20.6%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MAR |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$334.97 |
$147.17 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$403.81 |
$141.07 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+20.6%
|
-4.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$87.3B |
$363.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
22.2x
|
29.6x
|
| Price / Sales |
3.2x
|
5.5x
|
| Price / FCF |
28.7x
|
22.6x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+4.8%
|
+5.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
20.2%
|
75.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
15.8%
|
16.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
-66.7%
|
6.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.84% |
2.31% |
| FCF Yield |
3.48%
|
4.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Marriott International is a global asset-light hotel franchisor and manager whose 10,082-property, 1.814 million-room system, 629,000-room development pipeline, broad brands, and more than 295 million Bonvoy members support durable fee-led economics. Business quality is tempered by cyclicality, competitive owner incentives, and $16.915 billion of debt, while reported ROE is negative 66.7%. In the…
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 |
MAR |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$302.86 |
$105.80 |
| Zone High |
$343.24 |
$119.91 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|