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Compare Stocks › DE vs MRK

Deere & Company (DE) vs Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)

DE
Deere & Company
$577.26
VS
MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
$112.16

Rewards

DE
  • ★Free cash flow has grown at a 52.5% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.
  • ★Dividend yield of 1.12% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.
MRK
  • ★Gross margin of 76.6% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
  • ★Each dollar of retained earnings has created $3.38 of earning power — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • ★Dividend yield of 3.03% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

DE
  • ⚠FCF yield of 2.7% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
  • ⚠Trailing P/E of 32.6x is 83% above the historical average of 17.8x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • ⚠High leverage (3.76x debt/equity) combined with thin interest coverage (-1.0x) poses financial risk.
MRK
  • ⚠PEG ratio of 3.43 indicates the stock is expensive relative to its expected growth — the market may be pricing in more growth than analysts project.
  • ⚠12 insider sales totaling $40.7M with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.
  • ⚠Free cash flow has declined at a 5.6% CAGR over the past 4 years — a concerning trend.

Key Valuation Metrics

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DE
MRK
Valuation
$4.20B
Free Cash Flow
N/A
2.69%
FCF Yield
N/A
32.58
Trailing P/E
31.51
25.08
Forward P/E
11.52
Quality & Moat
10.52%
ROIC
19.18%
39.00%
ROE
34.66%
26.25%
Gross Margin
76.60%
1.74
PEG Ratio
3.43
Balance Sheet Safety
3.76
Debt / Equity
0.96
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
4.62
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.23
1.12%
Dividend Yield
3.03%
DE: 2Ties: 2MRK: 6
DEMRK

Historical Fundamentals

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DE

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

MRK

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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DE
$-0.13
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$17.54B
Δ Market Cap
$-2.23B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
MRK
$-1.72
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$12.28B
Δ Market Cap
$-21.09B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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DE
49.6% Margin of Safety
Price is 49.6% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $577.26
Fair Value: $1146.48
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
MRK
78.5% Margin of Safety
Price is 78.5% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $112.16
Fair Value: $522.77
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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DE

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $577?

+16.8%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +19.2%

The market implies +16.8% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +19.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

MRK

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

Economic Moat Score

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DE
50/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with margin stability as the key competitive advantage. Improving revenue predictability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
MRK
68/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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DE
-2.52
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
MRK
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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DE
Insiders 0.2%Institutions 82.8%Retail & Other 17.1%
No. of Institutional Holders3,194
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
MRK
Insiders 0.1%Institutions 81.3%Retail & Other 18.6%
No. of Institutional Holders4,628
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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DE
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
MRK
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
THULIN INGE G
Director
$250,000
@ $88.28 · 2025-02-06
BAKER DOUGLAS M JR
Director
$1.33M
@ $88.50 · 2025-02-05
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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DE
0
Sells (3M)
3
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $32.47M
REED CORY J.
Officer
$6.12M
@ $510.00 · 2026-01-14
MAY JOHN C. II
Chief Executive Officer
$20.80M
@ $501.49 · 2026-01-08
MAY JOHN C. II
Chief Executive Officer
$5.55M
@ $500.08 · 2025-11-25
KALATHUR RAJESH
Chief Technology Officer
$12.30M
@ $500.61 · 2025-02-18
REED CORY J.
Officer
$5.05M
@ $377.63 · 2024-06-24
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
MRK
12
Sells (3M)
14
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $42.04M
GUINDO CHIRFI
Officer
$1.21M
@ $121.46 · 2026-02-12
LI DEAN Y
Officer
$1.20M
@ $117.52 · 2026-02-10
GUINDO CHIRFI
Officer
$1.18M
@ $118.41 · 2026-02-09
ZACHARY JENNIFER L
General Counsel
$14.49M
@ $119.15 · 2026-02-09
DELUCA RICHARD ROBERT JR.
Officer
$4.56M
@ $120.92 · 2026-02-06
WILLIAMS DAVID MICHAEL
Chief Technology Officer
$609,525
@ $121.91 · 2026-02-06
OOSTHUIZEN JOHANNES JACOBUS
Officer
$1.83M
@ $121.87 · 2026-02-06
GUINDO CHIRFI
Officer
$2.44M
@ $121.88 · 2026-02-05
LI DEAN Y
Officer
$1.79M
@ $118.77 · 2026-02-04
DAVIS ROBERT M
Chief Executive Officer
$5.60M
@ $118.04 · 2026-02-04
LITCHFIELD CAROLINE
Chief Financial Officer
$5.02M
@ $119.61 · 2026-02-04
SMART DALTON E. III
Officer
$765,920
@ $119.67 · 2026-02-04
DOWNING CRISTAL N.
Officer
$616,395
@ $87.00 · 2025-11-10
WILLIAMS DAVID MICHAEL
Chief Technology Officer
$720,040
@ $83.59 · 2025-11-03
SMART DALTON E. III
Officer
$352,723
@ $82.76 · 2025-04-25
OOSTHUIZEN JOHANNES JACOBUS
Officer
$714,745
@ $84.09 · 2025-02-19
WILLIAMS DAVID MICHAEL
Chief Technology Officer
$512,057
@ $85.34 · 2025-02-13
DOWNING CRISTAL N.
Officer
$209,551
@ $88.76 · 2025-02-06
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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DE
FearGreed
😐Neutral(51/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
MRK
FearGreed
😐Neutral(55/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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DE
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (51)
MRK
⚪Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (55)
View DE Full AnalysisView MRK Full Analysis
DE vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io