MRK vs SBUX: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and Starbucks Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-18.
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
Starbucks Corporation · Consumer Cyclical
$96.67
+12.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
SBUX has more upside to fair value
(+12.3%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
SBUX |
| Current Price |
$147.17 |
$96.67 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$141.07 |
$108.52 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-4.1%
|
+12.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$363.5B |
$110.2B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.6x
|
22.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.5x
|
2.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
22.6x
|
30.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.1%
|
-1.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
75.4%
|
31.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
16.7%
|
9.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
6.6%
|
-24.3%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.31% |
2.57% |
| FCF Yield |
4.42%
|
3.29%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
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…
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer, operating company-owned and licensed coffeehouses across North America, International, and Channel Development segments, with a brand that has historically supported premium pricing and global scale. The business quality is currently strained: revenue declined 1.4% year over year in the most recent quarter, TTM operating margin is 9.4%, …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
SBUX |
| Zone Low |
$105.80 |
$81.39 |
| Zone High |
$119.91 |
$92.24 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|