Merck KGaAXSWX:MER +4.03%83 Interest Coverage is 9.07 as of Mar. 2026, which is 8% above its 10-year median of 8.37. GuruFocus rates XSWX:MER with a GF Score™ of 83/100 and a GF Value™ of CHF125.76. The stock has 9 warning signs investors should review. Among 684 Drug Manufacturers companies, Merck KGaA ranks worse than 57.31% on this metric.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's
Operating Income
by its Interest Expense. Merck KGaA's
Operating Income
for the
three
months ended in Mar. 2026 was CHF858 Mil. Merck KGaA's Interest Expense for the
three
months ended in Mar. 2026 was CHF-95 Mil.
Merck KGaA's interest coverage for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was 9.07.
The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.
The historical rank and industry rank for Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:
XSWX:MER'
s Interest Coverage Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 4.84 Med: 8.37 Max: 20.22
Current: 8.72
XSWX:MER's Interest Coverage is ranked worse than 57.31% of 684
companies
in the Drug Manufacturers industry
Industry Median: 12.765
vs XSWX:MER: 8.72
Ben Graham requires that a company has a minimum interest coverage of 5 with the companies he invested. If the interest coverage is less than 2, the company is burdened by debt. Any business slow or recession may drag the company into a situation where it cannot pay the interest on its debt.
Interest Coverage is an important factor when GuruFocus ranks a company's overage Financial Strength .
Merck KGaA Interest Coverage Related Terms
Merck KGaA Interest Coverage Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage can be seen below:
* 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.
Note: For Interest Coverage, "No debt" indicates no long-term debt. An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no long-term debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.
XSWX:MER vs ZTS, UTHR, VTRS: Interest Coverage Comparison
For the Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic subindustry, Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage, along with its competitors' market caps and Interest Coverage data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Merck KGaA Interest Coverage vs Drug Manufacturers Industry
For the Drug Manufacturers industry and Healthcare sector, Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage falls into.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income (EBIT) by its Interest Expense:
* 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.
Merck KGaA (XSWX:MER) has a Interest Coverage of 9.07 as of Mar. 2026. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Merck KGaA and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 8.37. Over the past decade, Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage has ranged from 4.84 to 20.22. According to the industry distribution chart, Merck KGaA ranks #392 out of 684 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry, placing it in the top 57.3%.
Is Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage too high?
Merck KGaA's current Interest Coverage of 9.07 is near median its 10-year median of 8.37. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 4.84 to a high of 20.22. The Drug Manufacturers industry median Interest Coverage is 12.77. Merck KGaA's value of 9.07 is 28.9% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Merck KGaA ranks #392 out of 684 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Merck KGaA has a GF Score™ of 83/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Merck KGaA's Interest Coverage compare to ZTS and UTHR?
According to the Drug Manufacturers industry distribution chart, Merck KGaA ranks #392 out of 684 companies for Interest Coverage. This places Merck KGaA in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 12.77. Merck KGaA's value of 9.07 is 28.9% below this benchmark. Historically, Merck KGaA's own Interest Coverage has ranged from 4.84 to 20.22 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 8.37 vs. the industry median of 12.77, Merck KGaA has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Interest Coverage for a Drug Manufacturers company?
The median Interest Coverage among Drug Manufacturers companies is 12.77, based on 684 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Interest Coverage significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Interest Coverage should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Merck KGaA's current Interest Coverage of 9.07 is 28.9% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Interest Coverage mean?
A high Interest Coverage can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Merck KGaA and its competitors. For the Drug Manufacturers industry, the median Interest Coverage is 12.77 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Merck KGaA's current Interest Coverage is 9.07, which is near median its own 10-year median of 8.37. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Merck KGaA stock overvalued right now?
Merck KGaA (XSWX:MER) has a current Interest Coverage of 9.07. The stock's GF Value™ is CHF125.76, compared to a current price of CHF130.30 — trading 3.6% above its estimated fair value. The current Interest Coverage is 9.07, which is near median its 10-year median of 8.37 and 28.9% below the Drug Manufacturers industry median of 12.77. Merck KGaA's overall GF Score™ is 83/100 with 9 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Interest Coverage calculated?
Interest Coverage is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Merck KGaA (XSWX:MER), the current Interest Coverage is 9.07 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Merck KGaA (XSWX:MER) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Merck KGaA stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of CHF130.30 is trading 3.6% above its estimated GF Value™ of CHF125.76.
Key valuation signals for XSWX:MER:
Interest Coverage: 9.07 (near median its 10-year median of 8.37)
GF Value™: CHF125.76 vs. price of CHF130.30 (3.6% above fair value)
Industry Position: 28.9% below the Drug Manufacturers median (#392 of 684)
No single metric tells the full story. See the XSWX:MER stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Merck KGaA operates in three main segments: Life Science, Electronics, and Healthcare. The Life Science segment provides laboratory consumables and instruments to researchers in academia and applied fields, including the biopharmaceutical industry. The Electronics segment offers specialty materials to manufacture a variety of products, such as semiconductors and flat-screen televisions. In the healthcare segment, Merck develops, manufactures, and sells branded pharmaceuticals with significant therapeutic concentrations in oncology, multiple sclerosis, and fertility. In 1995, the E. Merck KG family publicly sold part of the company, resulting in the current 30% public ownership of the firm.
83GF Score
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