Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. AZN scored 72.0, MRK scored 33.5 — AZN leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. MRK's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but AZN's are as of December 2025 — a 6-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
AZN
AstraZeneca PLC
Drug Manufacturers - General · Quality-Growth
72
$159.20 · $246.9B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
38.5
AZN leads
MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
Drug Manufacturers - General · Quality-Growth
33.5
$145.60 · $359.2B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestAZN23.8x
Fastest growthAZN+8.6%
Strongest balance sheetAZN0.64
Highest qualityAZN78 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
AZN
stronger →← stronger
MRK
78
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
62
78
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
35
61
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
17
AZN is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
AZN
MRK
$11.8bA-
FCF
$16.1bA-
+8.6%B
Rev
+1.3%C
0.64C+
D/E
1.28C
23.8xB+
P/E
115.6xD
1.12B+
PEG
2.60C
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
AZN
MRK
11% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
57% above
~12%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~14%/yr
-22%
1-yr DCF upside
-35%
-10%
5-yr DCF upside
-36%
+10%
10-yr DCF upside
-39%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
AZN
Why this score
Raising its dividend
MRK
Why this score
Durable high returns
The companies
AZNAstraZeneca PLC
Drug Manufacturers - General · $159.20 · beta 0.21
Why now
Drug Manufacturers - General · market cap $246.9b. Down 25% from 52-week high of $212.71 — deep drawdown territory. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $206.91 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
Net margin 17% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 21% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 115% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trial-readout binary — late-stage clinical trials carry approve/reject outcomes that swing valuation 30%+; the equity is effectively a portfolio of these binary events, not a steady cash-flow business.
MRKMerck & Co., Inc.
Drug Manufacturers - General · $145.60 · beta 0.22
Why now
Drug Manufacturers - General · market cap $359.2b. 7% off the 52-week high of $156.92. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $158.28 (implying +9% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of depreciation and amortization ($6.7b) — non-cash charges that hold down reported earnings while cash generation stays strong. $359.2b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate. Pharma moat is patent runway + pipeline depth — a single approved molecule funds the next generation of bets. Late-stage trials carry binary readouts that swing valuation 30%+.
Risk
Trailing P/E 115.6x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Net margin 4.8% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first. ROE 7% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where AZN and MRK diverge
On the headline score the gap is 38.5 points in favor of AZN. The widest single difference is Growth, where AZN leads by 43.7 points.
GrowthAZN 78.5 · MRK 34.8AZN +43.7
ValueAZN 61.1 · MRK 17.4AZN +43.7
QualityAZN 77.8 · MRK 62.0AZN +15.8
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is AZN or MRK the better stock?
AZN scores higher: AZN 72.0, MRK 33.5 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do AZN and MRK differ most?
The widest gap is growth, where AZN leads by 44 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. AZN leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are AZN and MRK scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.