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

Merck & Co. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($16.4B vs $8.7B, roughly 1.9× PayPal). Merck & Co. runs the higher net margin — 18.1% vs 16.6%, a 1.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Merck & Co. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (5.0% vs 3.7%). PayPal produced more free cash flow last quarter ($2.2B vs $1.8B). Over the past eight quarters, PayPal's revenue compounded faster (6.2% CAGR vs 2.0%).

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.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites and many other commercial and company users.

MRK vs PYPL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MRK
MRK
1.9× larger
MRK
$16.4B
$8.7B
PYPL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MRK
MRK
+1.3% gap
MRK
5.0%
3.7%
PYPL
Higher net margin
MRK
MRK
1.5% more per $
MRK
18.1%
16.6%
PYPL
More free cash flow
PYPL
PYPL
$366.0M more FCF
PYPL
$2.2B
$1.8B
MRK
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PYPL
PYPL
Annualised
PYPL
6.2%
2.0%
MRK

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Revenue
$16.4B
$8.7B
Net Profit
$3.0B
$1.4B
Gross Margin
66.2%
Operating Margin
20.9%
17.4%
Net Margin
18.1%
16.6%
Revenue YoY
5.0%
3.7%
Net Profit YoY
-20.8%
28.2%
EPS (diluted)
$1.19
$1.53

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
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$16.4B
$8.7B
Q3 25
$17.3B
$8.4B
Q2 25
$15.8B
$8.3B
Q1 25
$15.5B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$15.6B
$8.4B
Q3 24
$16.7B
$7.8B
Q2 24
$16.1B
$7.9B
Q1 24
$15.8B
$7.7B
Net Profit
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$3.0B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$5.8B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$4.4B
$1.3B
Q1 25
$5.1B
$1.3B
Q4 24
$3.7B
$1.1B
Q3 24
$3.2B
$1.0B
Q2 24
$5.5B
$1.1B
Q1 24
$4.8B
$888.0M
Gross Margin
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
66.2%
Q3 25
77.7%
Q2 25
77.5%
Q1 25
78.0%
Q4 24
75.5%
Q3 24
75.5%
Q2 24
76.8%
Q1 24
77.6%
Operating Margin
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
20.9%
17.4%
Q3 25
39.0%
18.1%
Q2 25
31.6%
18.1%
Q1 25
38.0%
19.6%
Q4 24
26.7%
17.2%
Q3 24
24.6%
17.7%
Q2 24
37.3%
16.8%
Q1 24
35.9%
15.2%
Net Margin
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
18.1%
16.6%
Q3 25
33.5%
14.8%
Q2 25
28.0%
15.2%
Q1 25
32.7%
16.5%
Q4 24
24.0%
13.4%
Q3 24
19.0%
12.9%
Q2 24
33.9%
14.3%
Q1 24
30.2%
11.5%
EPS (diluted)
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$1.19
$1.53
Q3 25
$2.32
$1.30
Q2 25
$1.76
$1.29
Q1 25
$2.01
$1.29
Q4 24
$1.49
$1.09
Q3 24
$1.24
$0.99
Q2 24
$2.14
$1.08
Q1 24
$1.87
$0.83

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$14.6B
$10.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$52.6B
$20.3B
Total Assets
$136.9B
$80.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$14.6B
$10.4B
Q3 25
$18.2B
$10.8B
Q2 25
$8.6B
$10.0B
Q1 25
$9.2B
$11.2B
Q4 24
$13.7B
$10.8B
Q3 24
$14.6B
$11.9B
Q2 24
$11.4B
$13.6B
Q1 24
$5.6B
$14.3B
Stockholders' Equity
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$52.6B
$20.3B
Q3 25
$51.9B
$20.2B
Q2 25
$49.0B
$20.2B
Q1 25
$48.3B
$20.3B
Q4 24
$46.3B
$20.4B
Q3 24
$44.5B
$20.2B
Q2 24
$43.6B
$20.6B
Q1 24
$40.4B
$20.7B
Total Assets
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$136.9B
$80.2B
Q3 25
$129.5B
$79.8B
Q2 25
$117.5B
$79.8B
Q1 25
$115.1B
$81.3B
Q4 24
$117.1B
$81.6B
Q3 24
$117.5B
$83.5B
Q2 24
$112.6B
$84.0B
Q1 24
$105.8B
$83.3B

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$2.9B
$2.4B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$1.8B
$2.2B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
11.1%
25.2%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
6.3%
2.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.96×
1.66×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$12.4B
$5.6B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$2.9B
$2.4B
Q3 25
$7.8B
$2.0B
Q2 25
$3.3B
$898.0M
Q1 25
$2.5B
$1.2B
Q4 24
$3.5B
$2.4B
Q3 24
$9.3B
$1.6B
Q2 24
$5.6B
$1.5B
Q1 24
$3.1B
$1.9B
Free Cash Flow
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
$1.8B
$2.2B
Q3 25
$6.8B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$2.5B
$692.0M
Q1 25
$1.2B
$964.0M
Q4 24
$2.5B
$2.2B
Q3 24
$8.5B
$1.4B
Q2 24
$4.8B
$1.4B
Q1 24
$2.2B
$1.8B
FCF Margin
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
11.1%
25.2%
Q3 25
39.6%
20.4%
Q2 25
16.0%
8.3%
Q1 25
7.5%
12.4%
Q4 24
16.1%
26.2%
Q3 24
51.1%
18.4%
Q2 24
30.1%
17.3%
Q1 24
14.1%
22.9%
Capex Intensity
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
6.3%
2.2%
Q3 25
5.7%
3.0%
Q2 25
4.8%
2.5%
Q1 25
8.6%
2.5%
Q4 24
6.0%
2.4%
Q3 24
4.7%
2.2%
Q2 24
4.9%
2.0%
Q1 24
5.5%
2.0%
Cash Conversion
MRK
MRK
PYPL
PYPL
Q4 25
0.96×
1.66×
Q3 25
1.35×
1.58×
Q2 25
0.74×
0.71×
Q1 25
0.49×
0.90×
Q4 24
0.92×
2.14×
Q3 24
2.94×
1.60×
Q2 24
1.03×
1.35×
Q1 24
0.65×
2.16×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MRK
MRK

Pharmaceuticalsegment$8.7B53%
Keytruda$4.9B30%
Other$2.7B16%
Janumet$57.0M0%
Isentress Isentress HD$38.0M0%
Pifeltro$25.0M0%
Belsomra$23.0M0%
Dificid$17.0M0%
Delstrigo$14.0M0%
Lagevrio$12.0M0%
Pneumovax23$4.0M0%

PYPL
PYPL

US$4.9B57%
Non Us$3.7B43%

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