Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) vs Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) Stock Comparison

Compare Stocks › MRK vs SBUX

MRK

Merck & Co., Inc.

$114.20

SBUX

Starbucks Corporation

$95.83

Rewards

MRK

★Gross margin of 77.2% indicates strong pricing power — typical of businesses with significant intellectual property or brand strength.
★Dividend yield of 2.98% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.
★Management has timed buybacks well — 2 out of 3 years showed value-accretive repurchases.

SBUX

★Starbucks Corporation has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
★Starbucks Corporation scores 71/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
★Dividend yield of 2.59% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

MRK

⚠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.

SBUX

⚠Gross margin of 22.2% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
⚠Trailing P/E of 79.9x is 127% above the historical average of 35.2x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
⚠Net debt/EBITDA of 4.1x indicates heavy leverage — it would take over 4 years of EBITDA to pay off net debt.

Key Valuation Metrics

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MRK

SBUX

Valuation

$11.89B

Free Cash Flow

$-1.44B

4.21%

FCF Yield

-1.32%

15.71

Trailing P/E

79.86

11.68

Forward P/E

32.45

Quality & Moat

16.31%

ROIC

10.82%

34.66%

ROE

N/A

77.21%

Gross Margin

22.17%

N/A

PEG Ratio

N/A

Balance Sheet Safety

0.96

Debt / Equity

N/A

Interest Coverage

N/A

1.24

Net Debt / EBITDA

4.13

2.98%

Dividend Yield

2.59%

MRK: 8Ties: 1SBUX: 0

MRKSBUX

Historical Fundamentals

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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.

SBUX

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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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

SBUX

$-9.28

created per $1 retained over 3 years

Market Cap Declined

Σ Retained

$1.95B

Δ Market Cap

$-18.13B

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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MRK

78.1% Margin of Safety

Price is 78.1% below estimated fair value

Current Price: $114.20

Strongly undervalued

Fairly valued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $522.23

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

SBUX

1.6% Overvalued

Price is 1.6% above estimated fair value

Current Price: $95.83

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Fair Value: $94.35

Strongly undervalued

Undervalued

Fairly valued

Overvalued

Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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MRK

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $114?

+5.8%

Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth

Standard FCF implies +11.7%

The market implies +5.8% Owner Earnings growth, roughly in line with history — reasonably priced.

Standard FCF implies +11.7%, reflecting ongoing growth investment.

SBUX

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

Economic Moat Score

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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.

SBUX

71/100

Wide Moat

70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat driven primarily by roic consistency. Margin Stability is the area most vulnerable to competitive pressure.

Forensic Accounting

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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.

SBUX

-2.77

Unlikely Manipulator

Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Ownership Breakdown

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MRK

Insiders 0.1%Institutions 81.4%Retail & Other 18.6%

No. of Institutional Holders4,575

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.

SBUX

Insiders 0.1%Institutions 84.8%Retail & Other 15.1%

No. of Institutional Holders2,899

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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MRK

Buys (3M)

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

SBUX

Buys (3M)

Buys (12M)

Total value (12M): $994,500

KNUDSTORP JORGEN VIG

Director

$994,500

@ $85.00 · 2025-11-10

KNUDSTORP JORGEN VIG

Director

$34,770

@ $91.50 · 2024-09-06

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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MRK

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $42.39M

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

OOSTHUIZEN JOHANNES JACOBUS

Officer

$1.83M

@ $121.87 · 2026-02-06

WILLIAMS DAVID MICHAEL

Chief Technology Officer

$609,525

@ $121.91 · 2026-02-06

GUINDO CHIRFI

Officer

$2.44M

@ $121.88 · 2026-02-05

DAVIS ROBERT M

Chief Executive Officer

$5.60M

@ $118.04 · 2026-02-04

SMART DALTON E. III

Officer

$765,920

@ $119.67 · 2026-02-04

LI DEAN Y

Officer

$1.79M

@ $118.77 · 2026-02-04

LITCHFIELD CAROLINE

Chief Financial Officer

$5.02M

@ $119.61 · 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

SBUX

Sells (3M)

Sells (12M)

Total value (12M): $460,974

BREWER BRADY

Officer

$58,800

@ $100.00 · 2026-03-09

KELLY SARA

Officer

$242,800

@ $97.12 · 2026-03-05

BREWER BRADY

Officer

$159,374

@ $97.12 · 2026-03-05

KELLY SARA

Officer

$1.94M

@ $101.37 · 2024-11-29

RUGGERI RACHEL

Chief Financial Officer

$148,414

@ $99.54 · 2024-11-21

RUGGERI RACHEL

Chief Financial Officer

$143,850

@ $99.07 · 2024-11-15

CONWAY MICHAEL AARON

Officer

$305,598

@ $94.03 · 2024-08-15

RUGGERI RACHEL

Chief Executive Officer

$299,916

@ $91.16 · 2024-08-13

CONWAY MICHAEL AARON

Officer

$260,000

@ $80.00 · 2024-06-14

RUGGERI RACHEL

Chief Financial Officer

$300,000

@ $80.00 · 2024-05-22

KELLY SARA

Officer

$19,375

@ $77.50 · 2024-05-21

KELLY SARA

Officer

$22,000

@ $88.00 · 2024-04-22

CONWAY MICHAEL AARON

Officer

$277,518

@ $85.39 · 2024-04-15

KELLY SARA

Officer

$23,158

@ $92.63 · 2024-03-21

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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MRK

😐Neutral(54/100)

"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.

SBUX

😐Neutral(55/100)

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

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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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 (54)

SBUX

⚪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 MRK Full Analysis View SBUX Full Analysis