MRK vs NVS
Merck & Co. Inc. and Novartis AG, side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | MRK | NVS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $65.0B | $54.5B |
| Net income | $18.3B | $14.0B |
| Gross margin | 74.8% | 78.8% |
| Net margin | 28.1% | 25.6% |
| Return on equity | 36.9% | 31.0% |
| Diluted EPS | $7.28 | $7.15 |
| Dividend / share | $3.28 | · |
| Payout ratio | 44.8% | · |
| Free cash flow | $12.4B | $17.6B |
| Equity | $52.6B | $46.1B |
| Net debt / equity | 0.66× | 0.37× |
| Current ratio | 1.54× | 1.12× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 9.4% | 2.3% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 20.9% | 11.6% |
MRK bills 1.2× the revenue of NVS, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (28.1% against 25.6%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | MRK | NVS |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $65.0B | $54.5B |
| FY2024 | $64.2B | $50.3B |
| FY2023 | $60.1B | $45.4B |
| FY2022 | $59.3B | $42.2B |
| FY2021 | $48.7B | $42.8B |
| FY2020 | $41.5B | $48.7B |
| FY2019 | $39.1B | $47.5B |
| FY2018 | $42.3B | $44.8B |
| FY2017 | $40.1B | $42.4B |
| FY2016 | $39.8B | $48.5B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | MRK | NVS |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $18.3B | $14.0B |
| FY2024 | $17.1B | $11.9B |
| FY2023 | $365.0M | $14.8B |
| FY2022 | $14.5B | $7.0B |
| FY2021 | $13.0B | $24.0B |
| FY2020 | $7.1B | $8.1B |
| FY2019 | $9.8B | $11.7B |
| FY2018 | $6.2B | $12.6B |
| FY2017 | $2.4B | $7.7B |
| FY2016 | $3.9B | $6.7B |
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$10,479,000,000 | MRK |
| FY2024 | +$13,851,000,000 | MRK |
| FY2023 | +$14,675,000,000 | MRK |
| FY2022 | +$17,077,000,000 | MRK |
| FY2021 | +$5,923,000,000 | MRK |
| FY2020 | −$7,141,000,000 | NVS |
| FY2019 | −$8,377,000,000 | NVS |
| FY2018 | −$2,539,000,000 | NVS |
| FY2017 | −$2,259,000,000 | NVS |
| FY2016 | −$8,711,000,000 | NVS |
The higher-revenue side has changed between MRK and NVS over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +2.5 pp | MRK |
| FY2024 | +3.0 pp | MRK |
| FY2023 | −32.1 pp | NVS |
| FY2022 | +8.0 pp | MRK |
| FY2021 | −29.3 pp | NVS |
| FY2020 | +0.5 pp | MRK |
| FY2019 | +0.3 pp | MRK |
| FY2018 | −13.5 pp | NVS |
| FY2017 | −12.1 pp | NVS |
| FY2016 | −3.9 pp | NVS |
The higher net margin has changed hands between MRK and NVS over this period.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
NVS's net margin has been more volatile than MRK's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 11.6 percentage points of standard deviation against 9.3.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between MRK and NVS over these 10 fiscal years — MRK led in 5 and NVS in 5.
10 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
MRK's return on equity has been more volatile than NVS's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 14.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 9.6.
10 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between MRK and NVS over these 10 fiscal years — MRK led in 8 and NVS in 2.
10 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.