Abbott Laboratories (ABT) vs Merck & Company Inc (MRK)

A side-by-side look at how these two compare on valuation, profitability and shareholder returns.

Abbott Laboratories vs Merck & Company at a glance

Both companies operate in the Health Care sector, so these figures are broadly like-for-like.

MetricABTMRK
Market cap$203.36B$372.43B
Price$116.13$156.45
P/E ratio (TTM)33.4714.18
P/B ratio (MRQ)4.194.92
P/S ratio (TTM)4.933.98
Revenue growth (1Y)5.67%1.31%
Return on equity (TTM)12.51%34.70%
Return on invested capital (TTM)9.36%22.71%
Gross margin (TTM)56.80%82.44%
Net margin (TTM)11.65%13.59%
Dividend yield (TTM)2.16%2.26%

How they differ

Merck & Company is the larger company at $372.43B versus $203.36B — about 1.8x the size.

On trailing earnings, Merck & Company is the cheaper of the two at 14.18 against 33.47 for Abbott Laboratories.

On sales, Merck & Company is the cheaper of the two at 3.98 against 4.93 for Abbott Laboratories.

Abbott Laboratories leads on revenue growth over the past year, 5.67% against 1.31%.

Merck & Company leads on return on invested capital, 22.71% against 9.36%.

Merck & Company leads on gross margin, 82.44% against 56.80%.

Merck & Company offers the higher yield at 2.26% against 2.16%.

Go deeper

Ratios describe the past. Whether either is worth owning depends on what you pay today.

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