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Merck forward PE MRK

Share price divided by analysts' consensus earnings for the next twelve months, since 1996.

Today, Oct 23, 2026
17.5×
10-year median
16.6×
Against its 10-year history
63rd
percentile: 0 is its lowest day, 100 its highest
10-year range
9.1× to 117×
Peer median
18.8×

Merck's forward PE is 17.5× as of Oct 23, 2026.

That is above its ten-year median of 16.6×, close to the middle of its last ten years.

Over that time it ranged from 9.1× in Apr 2025 to 117× in Apr 2023.

The median for 8 large drugmakers of a similar size is 18.8×.

Forward PE over time

The dashed line is the 10-year median and the shaded band the middle half of its days.

Open the interactive chart, with overlays and comparisons

Year by year

YearEnd of yearLowHigh
2026 so far17.5×15.4×53.7×
202545.2×9.1×45.2×
202412.3×11.8×22.3×
202320.1×17.4×117×
202242.2×11.3×42.5×
202111.3×10.7×13.3×
202013.0×12.0×17.9×
201917.9×15.9×18.1×
201816.7×12.5×17.6×
201713.6×13.2×18.9×
201616.8×13.4×18.4×
201514.4×13.6×19.1×
201417.5×14.7×18.7×
201314.7×11.9×14.7×
201212.2×10.5×13.9×
20119.7×8.6×10.6×
201010.2×9.8×12.3×
200911.4×7.1×11.7×
20089.7×8.1×18.7×
200718.1×14.8×18.7×

Against its peers

Companies in Drug Manufacturers - General nearest Merck's size, closest first, today.

CompanyForward PE
MRKMerck17.5×
ABBVAbbVie19.0×
AMGNAmgen18.6×
JNJJohnson & Johnson23.4×
GILDGilead Sciences17.2×
PFEPfizer10.9×
BMYBristol-Myers Squibb10.4×
LLYEli Lilly and33.9×
BIIBBiogen19.1×
Peer median18.8×

Where Merck ranks

What the forward PE tells you

Price divided by what analysts expect the company to earn over the next twelve months. It answers "what am I paying for next year" instead of last year.

Estimates are opinions. When forward PE is far below trailing PE, analysts expect a big jump in earnings. If that jump slips, the stock was not as cheap as it looked.

More on Merck

Valuation data, not investment advice. Prices as of . Reported figures come from the company's filings with the SEC.