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

Merck & Co. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($16.3B vs $8.4B, roughly 1.9× Southern Company). Southern Company runs the higher net margin — 15.9% vs 0.9%, a 15.1% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Southern Company posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (8.0% vs 4.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Southern Company's revenue compounded faster (14.0% CAGR vs 0.5%).

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.

Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest utility company in the U.S. in terms of customer base. Through its subsidiaries it serves 9 million gas and electric utility customers in 6 states. Southern Company's regulated regional electric utilities serve a 120,000-square-mile (310,000 km2) territor...

MRK vs SO — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MRK
MRK
1.9× larger
MRK
$16.3B
$8.4B
SO
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
SO
SO
+3.1% gap
SO
8.0%
4.9%
MRK
Higher net margin
SO
SO
15.1% more per $
SO
15.9%
0.9%
MRK
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
SO
SO
Annualised
SO
14.0%
0.5%
MRK

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Revenue
$16.3B
$8.4B
Net Profit
$141.0M
$1.3B
Gross Margin
74.2%
Operating Margin
24.0%
Net Margin
0.9%
15.9%
Revenue YoY
4.9%
8.0%
Net Profit YoY
-9.5%
5.4%
EPS (diluted)

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
SO
SO
Q1 26
$16.3B
$8.4B
Q4 25
$16.4B
$7.0B
Q3 25
$17.3B
$7.8B
Q2 25
$15.8B
$7.0B
Q1 25
$15.5B
$7.8B
Q4 24
$15.6B
$6.3B
Q3 24
$16.7B
$7.3B
Q2 24
$16.1B
$6.5B
Net Profit
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Q1 26
$141.0M
$1.3B
Q4 25
$3.0B
$341.0M
Q3 25
$5.8B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$4.4B
$880.0M
Q1 25
$5.1B
$1.3B
Q4 24
$3.7B
$466.0M
Q3 24
$3.2B
$1.5B
Q2 24
$5.5B
$1.2B
Gross Margin
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Q1 26
74.2%
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%
Operating Margin
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Q1 26
24.0%
Q4 25
20.9%
13.1%
Q3 25
39.0%
33.2%
Q2 25
31.6%
25.3%
Q1 25
38.0%
25.9%
Q4 24
26.7%
16.7%
Q3 24
24.6%
32.6%
Q2 24
37.3%
30.0%
Net Margin
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Q1 26
0.9%
15.9%
Q4 25
18.1%
4.9%
Q3 25
33.5%
21.9%
Q2 25
28.0%
12.6%
Q1 25
32.7%
16.3%
Q4 24
24.0%
7.3%
Q3 24
19.0%
21.1%
Q2 24
33.9%
18.6%
EPS (diluted)
MRK
MRK
SO
SO
Q1 26
Q4 25
$1.19
$0.38
Q3 25
$2.32
$1.54
Q2 25
$1.76
$0.79
Q1 25
$2.01
$1.21
Q4 24
$1.49
$0.48
Q3 24
$1.24
$1.39
Q2 24
$2.14
$1.09

Financial Flow Comparison

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

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