Merck & Co.vs.Pfizer
MRK vs PFE · both in Big pharma, part of the Medicine, pharma & life science value chain: Large, diversified pharmaceutical groups with broad portfolios across therapeutic areas.
Merck & Co. is about 2.2× larger than Pfizer by market cap; Pfizer trades at the lower P/E (18.5 vs 34.1); year to date, Merck & Co. leads (+17.4% vs −2.9%).
Side by side
| MRK | PFE | |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $305B | $138B |
| Price | $123.54 | $24.17 |
| Today | −1.2% | −0.3% |
| Return YTD | +17.4% | −2.9% |
| Return 1Y | +47.0% | −6.2% |
| P/E | 34.1 | 18.5 |
| P/S | 4.6 | 2.2 |
| P/B | 6.7 | 1.5 |
Data as of 2026-07-11 · updates daily after U.S. close
The two companies
Merck & Co.MRK
American pharmaceutical group with strengths in oncology (Keytruda), vaccines and animal health.
Full MRK profile →PfizerPFE
Large American pharmaceutical group with a broad portfolio in vaccines, oncology and internal medicine.
Full PFE profile →More comparisons in Big pharma
See where MRK and PFE sit in the full Medicine, pharma & life science map — every segment from suppliers to end markets.Open the Life science value chain →