MRK vs SLB: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and Slb N.V. โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-09-18.
Merck & Co., Inc. ยท Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade C
VS
Slb N.V. ยท Energy
$52.08
+8.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
SLB has more upside to fair value (+8.6%). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric MRK SLB
Current Price $147.17 $52.08
Fair Value Estimate $141.07 $56.56
Upside to Fair Value -4.1% +8.6%
Market Cap $363.5B $77.3B
Forward P/E โ€” โ€”
EV / EBITDA 29.6x 12.2x
Price / Sales 5.5x 2.1x
Price / FCF 22.6x 17.1x
Revenue Growth YoY +5.1% +5.0%
Gross Margin 75.4% 16.5%
Operating Margin 16.7% 13.4%
Return on Equity 6.6% 11.8%
Dividend Yield 2.31% 2.25%
FCF Yield 4.42% 5.83%
Analyst Consensus Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
MRK โ€” Merck & Co., Inc.
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 higโ€ฆ
SLB โ€” Slb N.V.
SLB N.V. is the world's largest oilfield services provider, operating four divisions (Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems) that span field development, drilling, subsea production, and carbon management for the global energy industry. The business carries a medium-quality profile: it benefits from deep technical expertise, a broad international โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric MRK SLB
Zone Low $105.80 $42.42
Zone High $119.91 $48.08
In Buy Zone? No No
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