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Side-by-side financial comparison of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Merck & Co. (MRK). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Archer Daniels Midland is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($20.5B vs $16.3B, roughly 1.3× Merck & Co.). Archer Daniels Midland runs the higher net margin — 1.5% vs 0.9%, a 0.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Merck & Co. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.9% vs 1.6%). Over the past eight quarters, Merck & Co.'s revenue compounded faster (0.5% CAGR vs -4.0%).

The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, commonly known as ADM, is an American multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation founded in 1902 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial, and animal feed markets worldwide.

Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. The company does business as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada. The company is ranked fourth on the list of largest biomedical companies by revenue.

ADM vs MRK — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ADM
ADM
1.3× larger
ADM
$20.5B
$16.3B
MRK
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MRK
MRK
+3.3% gap
MRK
4.9%
1.6%
ADM
Higher net margin
ADM
ADM
0.6% more per $
ADM
1.5%
0.9%
MRK
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
MRK
MRK
Annualised
MRK
0.5%
-4.0%
ADM

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Revenue
$20.5B
$16.3B
Net Profit
$298.0M
$141.0M
Gross Margin
6.0%
74.2%
Operating Margin
Net Margin
1.5%
0.9%
Revenue YoY
1.6%
4.9%
Net Profit YoY
1.0%
-9.5%
EPS (diluted)
$0.62

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$20.5B
$16.3B
Q4 25
$6.1B
$16.4B
Q3 25
$6.4B
$17.3B
Q2 25
$6.3B
$15.8B
Q1 25
$6.1B
$15.5B
Q4 24
$-25.7B
$15.6B
Q3 24
$6.0B
$16.7B
Q2 24
$22.2B
$16.1B
Net Profit
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$298.0M
$141.0M
Q4 25
$456.0M
$3.0B
Q3 25
$108.0M
$5.8B
Q2 25
$219.0M
$4.4B
Q1 25
$295.0M
$5.1B
Q4 24
$567.0M
$3.7B
Q3 24
$18.0M
$3.2B
Q2 24
$486.0M
$5.5B
Gross Margin
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
6.0%
74.2%
Q4 25
20.0%
66.2%
Q3 25
19.8%
77.7%
Q2 25
21.6%
77.5%
Q1 25
19.2%
78.0%
Q4 24
75.5%
Q3 24
22.8%
75.5%
Q2 24
6.3%
76.8%
Operating Margin
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
Q4 25
7.9%
20.9%
Q3 25
2.3%
39.0%
Q2 25
4.4%
31.6%
Q1 25
5.7%
38.0%
Q4 24
26.7%
Q3 24
1.8%
24.6%
Q2 24
2.7%
37.3%
Net Margin
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
1.5%
0.9%
Q4 25
7.5%
18.1%
Q3 25
1.7%
33.5%
Q2 25
3.5%
28.0%
Q1 25
4.8%
32.7%
Q4 24
-2.2%
24.0%
Q3 24
0.3%
19.0%
Q2 24
2.2%
33.9%
EPS (diluted)
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$0.62
Q4 25
$0.95
$1.19
Q3 25
$0.22
$2.32
Q2 25
$0.45
$1.76
Q1 25
$0.61
$2.01
Q4 24
$1.21
$1.49
Q3 24
$0.04
$1.24
Q2 24
$0.98
$2.14

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$591.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.7B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$22.8B
Total Assets
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.08×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$591.0M
Q4 25
$1.0B
$14.6B
Q3 25
$1.2B
$18.2B
Q2 25
$1.1B
$8.6B
Q1 25
$864.0M
$9.2B
Q4 24
$611.0M
$13.7B
Q3 24
$784.0M
$14.6B
Q2 24
$764.0M
$11.4B
Total Debt
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$1.7B
Q4 25
$7.6B
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$8.3B
Q3 24
$7.6B
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
$22.8B
Q4 25
$22.7B
$52.6B
Q3 25
$22.5B
$51.9B
Q2 25
$22.4B
$49.0B
Q1 25
$22.1B
$48.3B
Q4 24
$22.2B
$46.3B
Q3 24
$22.0B
$44.5B
Q2 24
$22.2B
$43.6B
Total Assets
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
Q4 25
$52.4B
$136.9B
Q3 25
$51.9B
$129.5B
Q2 25
$52.0B
$117.5B
Q1 25
$53.4B
$115.1B
Q4 24
$53.3B
$117.1B
Q3 24
$52.2B
$117.5B
Q2 24
$52.7B
$112.6B
Debt / Equity
ADM
ADM
MRK
MRK
Q1 26
0.08×
Q4 25
0.33×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.37×
Q3 24
0.35×
Q2 24

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ADM
ADM

Ag Services and Oilseeds$16.0B78%
Carbohydrate Solutions$2.6B12%
Nutrition$1.8B9%

MRK
MRK

Segment breakdown not available.

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