The earnings yield is an indication of how much return shareholders' investment in the company earned over the past 12 months. The higher the earnings yield is, the better.
As of today (2024-04-27), the stock price of Merck is $131.20.
Merck's Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $0.90. Therefore, Merck's earnings yield of today is 0.69%.
The earnings yield does not consider the growth of the business. A better indicator of the attractiveness of an investment which takes growth into account is the Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) %. Merck's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was 4.70%. The Forward Rate of Return uses the normalized Free Cash Flow of the past seven years, and considers growth. The forward rate of return can be thought of as the return that investors buying the stock today can expect from it in the future.
Merck Earnings Yield % Calculation
Earnings yield is the reciprocal of the P/E Ratio.
Merck's Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $0.900 Mil.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
It can also be calculated from the numbers for the whole company:
The earnings in the calculation is the Trailing Twelve Months earnings.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) Earnings Yield % Explanation
If the P/E ratio is an indication of how many years it takes for the company to earn back the stock price shareholders pay to buy the shares, the earnings yield is an indication of how much return shareholders' investment in the company earned over the past 12 months. The higher the earnings yield is, the better.
If a company loses money, the earnings yield is negative. This gives a more straightforward indication that the company is losing money. This is an advantage of using earnings yield instead of the P/E ratio in valuation. For valuation purposes, the P/B Ratio and the P/S Ratio should be used for companies that are losing money.
Like the P/E ratio, the earnings yield can be used to compare investments in different industries. It can even be used to compare the attractiveness of different asset classes such as bonds and cash. Of course, the earnings yield should not be the only factor in deciding which asset classes to invest.
Also similar to the P/E ratio, the earnings yield does not consider the growth of the business. A growing company with the same earnings yield should be more attractive than a company that has the same earnings yield but does not grow.
Just like the P/E Ratio, non-recurring items such as selling part of the business, selling a previous investment, etc., can affect earnings yield dramatically. The earning yield is also a poor indication for cyclical companies. When a cyclical stock has a high earnings yield it is usually at the peak of its cycle.
Merck Earnings Yield % Related Terms
Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Merck's Earnings Yield % provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.
Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections. Within cancer, the firm's immuno-oncology platform is growing as a major contributor to overall sales. The company also has a substantial vaccine business, with treatments to prevent pediatric diseases as well as human papillomavirus, or HPV. Additionally, Merck sells animal health-related drugs. From a geographical perspective, just under half of the company's sales are generated in the United States.
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