Is APLY or MRK a better dividend investment in 2026?

APLY currently yields 38.63% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. MRK yields 2.76% with 8.2% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: APLY offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between APLY and MRK?

APLY has a forward dividend yield of 38.63% ($4.54/share annually). MRK yields 2.76% ($3.32/share annually). The yield gap is 35.87 percentage points.

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APLY vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

APLY yields 38.63% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 APLY wins by $158.4K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

APLY

● Live price

38.63%

Share price

$11.76

Annual div

$4.54

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$215.2K

Annual income

$35,316.79

Full APLY calculator →

MRK

Merck & Co. Inc.

● Live price

2.76%

Share price

$120.31

Annual div

$3.32

5Y div CAGR

32.7%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$56.8K

Annual income

$9,798.13

Full MRK calculator →

Portfolio growth — APLY vs MRK

📍 APLY pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	APLY	MRK
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, APLY + MRK cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

APLY pays

MRK pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

APLY

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$3,283.70/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$30,019.27/yr

MRK

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$234.56/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$8,328.41/yr

At 15% tax rate, APLY beats the other by $21,690.86/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of APLY + MRK for your $10,000?

APLY: 50%MRK: 50%

100% MRK50/50100% APLY

Portfolio after 10yr

$136.0K

Annual income

$22,557.47/yr

Blended yield

16.59%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

APLY

No analyst data

MRK

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Buy

Price Target

$128.54

+6.8% upside vs current

Range: $100.00 — $150.00

Altman Z

4.0

Piotroski

6/9

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

APLY buys

MRK buys

No recent congressional trades found for APLY or MRK in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricAPLYMRK

Forward yield	38.63% ✓	2.76%
Annual dividend / share	$4.54 ✓	$3.32
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	32.7% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$215.2K ✓	$56.8K
Annual income after 10y	$35,316.79 ✓	$9,798.13
Total dividends collected	$160.2K ✓	$28.9K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	Healthcare

Year-by-year: APLY vs MRK ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	APLY Portfolio	APLY Income/yr	MRK Portfolio	MRK Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$14,563	$3,863.18	$11,206	$366.19	+$3.4K → APLY
2	$20,841	$5,257.96	$12,650	$502.35	+$8.2K → APLY
3	$29,332	$7,032.13	$14,407	$694.19	+$14.9K → APLY
4	$40,634	$9,249.72	$16,585	$967.82	+$24.0K → APLY
5	$55,455	$11,975.79	$19,342	$1,363.89	+$36.1K → APLY
6	$74,611	$15,274.40	$22,913	$1,947.19	+$51.7K → APLY
7	$99,040	$19,206.34	$27,662	$2,823.89	+$71.4K → APLY
8	$129,800	$23,826.99	$34,159	$4,173.35	+$95.6K → APLY
9	$168,070	$29,184.26	$43,337	$6,308.80	+$124.7K → APLY
10	$215,152	$35,316.79	$56,776	$9,798.13	+$158.4K → APLY

APLY vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

APLY — Stock

The YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF (APLY) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund that seeks to generate weekly income by selling call options or call spreads on AAPL. The strategy is designed to capture option premiums while providing participation in the share price appreciation of AAPL.

Full APLY Calculator →

MRK — Healthcare

Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. It serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians and physician distributors, veterinarians, and animal producers. The company has collaborations with AstraZeneca PLC; Bayer AG; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Ridgeback Biotherapeutics; and Gilead Sciences, Inc. to jointly develop and commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey.

Full MRK Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.