Compare StocksMRK vs TXN

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) vs Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN)

MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
$112.16
VS
TXN
Texas Instruments Incorporated
$280.95

Rewards

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.
TXN
  • Texas Instruments Incorporated has maintained ROIC above 10% for 4 consecutive years, suggesting solid business economics.
  • Return on equity has consistently exceeded 20% over 4 years, indicating efficient use of shareholder capital.
  • Dividend yield of 2.02% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

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.
TXN
  • FCF yield of 1.0% is below 3%, meaning the market is pricing in substantial future growth to justify the current price.
  • Trailing P/E of 48.0x is 77% above the historical average of 27.1x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • 16 insider sales totaling $67.5M with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.

Key Valuation Metrics

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MRK
TXN
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$2.60B
N/A
FCF Yield
1.02%
31.51
Trailing P/E
48.03
11.52
Forward P/E
30.74
Quality & Moat
19.18%
ROIC
17.87%
34.66%
ROE
29.81%
76.60%
Gross Margin
57.32%
3.43
PEG Ratio
1.53
Balance Sheet Safety
0.96
Debt / Equity
0.84
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
1.23
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.03
3.03%
Dividend Yield
2.02%
MRK: 6Ties: 1TXN: 3
MRKTXN

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.

TXN

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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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
TXN
$3.91
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$1.96B
Δ Market Cap
+$7.67B
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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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
TXN
47.5% Overvalued
Price is 47.5% above estimated fair value
Current Price: $280.95
Fair Value: $190.46
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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MRK

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

TXN

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $281?

+21.0%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +30.1%

The market implies +21.0% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +30.1%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

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.
TXN
48/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with roic consistency as the key competitive advantage. Improving reinvestment efficiency 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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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.
TXN
-2.67
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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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.
TXN
Insiders 0.3%Institutions 90.9%Retail & Other 8.8%
No. of Institutional Holders3,157
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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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
TXN
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
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
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
TXN
16
Sells (3M)
19
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $69.61M
YUNUS MOHAMMAD
Officer
$13.82M
@ $270.44 · 2026-04-29
KANE KATHARINE
General Counsel
$1.66M
@ $270.41 · 2026-04-27
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$982,359
@ $268.40 · 2026-04-27
RON AMICHAI
Officer
$5.00M
@ $272.43 · 2026-04-24
WITZSCHE CHRISTINE
Officer
$998,771
@ $275.52 · 2026-04-24
LEONARD SHANON J
Officer
$5.06M
@ $277.95 · 2026-04-24
LIZARDI RAFAEL R
Chief Financial Officer
$11.12M
@ $274.23 · 2026-04-24
BLUEDORN TODD M
Director
$1.18M
@ $274.25 · 2026-04-24
PATSLEY PAMELA H
Director
$1.19M
@ $276.11 · 2026-04-24
KOZANIAN HAGOP H
Officer
$1.55M
@ $225.95 · 2026-02-17
GARY MARK
Officer
$5.24M
@ $226.00 · 2026-02-11
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$1.50M
@ $230.79 · 2026-02-11
LIZARDI RAFAEL R
Chief Financial Officer
$15.88M
@ $221.73 · 2026-02-11
ROBERTS MARK T
Officer
$986,604
@ $221.16 · 2026-02-09
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$670,387
@ $223.46 · 2026-02-05
BLINN MARK A
Director
$696,647
@ $221.58 · 2026-02-05
KIRK RONALD
Director
$1.62M
@ $162.33 · 2025-11-24
WITZSCHE CHRISTINE
Officer
$164,306
@ $164.31 · 2025-11-13
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$308,030
@ $205.35 · 2025-08-25
TEMPLETON RICHARD K
Chairman of the Board
$19.85M
@ $195.41 · 2025-02-28
TEMPLETON RICHARD K
Chairman of the Board
$38.65M
@ $199.20 · 2025-02-26
TEMPLETON RICHARD K
Chairman of the Board
$39.32M
@ $202.70 · 2025-02-24
CLARK JANET F
Director
$1.23M
@ $203.62 · 2025-02-24
BLINN MARK A
Director
$1.17M
@ $189.89 · 2025-02-19
LEONARD SHANON J
Officer
$401,241
@ $186.62 · 2025-02-18
BLINN MARK A
Director
$106,617
@ $180.71 · 2025-02-04
KIRK RONALD
Director
$2.14M
@ $203.33 · 2024-11-25
GARY MARK
Officer
$3.49M
@ $219.82 · 2024-11-08
ILAN HAVIV
Chief Executive Officer
$2.88M
@ $219.30 · 2024-11-08
YUNUS MOHAMMAD
Officer
$1.81M
@ $216.94 · 2024-11-07
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$472,514
@ $217.25 · 2024-11-07
LIZARDI RAFAEL R
Chief Financial Officer
$10.19M
@ $217.16 · 2024-11-07
GARY MARK
Officer
$940,296
@ $214.83 · 2024-11-06
WITZSCHE CHRISTINE
Officer
$27,941
@ $211.67 · 2024-11-06
ILAN HAVIV
Chief Executive Officer
$5.29M
@ $211.50 · 2024-11-06
SANCHEZ ROBERT E
Director
$2.09M
@ $208.80 · 2024-10-25
RON AMICHAI
Officer
$2.76M
@ $213.72 · 2024-08-29
GARY MARK
Officer
$3.22M
@ $212.63 · 2024-08-29
ROBERTS MARK T
Officer
$1.00M
@ $213.08 · 2024-08-29
PATSLEY PAMELA H
Director
$1.29M
@ $212.43 · 2024-08-29
BAHAI AHMAD
Officer
$892,427
@ $209.98 · 2024-08-27
YUNUS MOHAMMAD
Officer
$789,215
@ $208.90 · 2024-08-26
ILAN HAVIV
Chief Executive Officer
$251,324
@ $209.44 · 2024-08-26
GARY MARK
Officer
$939,037
@ $207.20 · 2024-08-23
KNECHT JULIE C.
Officer
$1.63M
@ $209.49 · 2024-08-23
LEONARD SHANON J
Officer
$588,301
@ $208.91 · 2024-08-23
HOBBY JEAN M
Director
$4.37M
@ $205.71 · 2024-08-22
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
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.
TXN
FearGreed
😏Greed(69/100)

"Market is optimistic — be cautious and ensure you have a margin of safety"

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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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)
TXN
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: Greed (69)
View MRK Full AnalysisView TXN Full Analysis
MRK vs TXN: Which Is the Better Buy? | SafetyMargin.io