HomeCompareBUFS vs MRK

BUFS vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

BUFS yields 8.75% · MRK yields 2.81%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $22.0K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 6
10 years
BUFS
BUFS
● Live price
8.75%
Share price
$22.86
Annual div
$2.00
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$35.7K
Annual income
$1,520.26
Full BUFS calculator →
MRK
Merck & Co. Inc.
● Live price
2.81%
Share price
$118.10
Annual div
$3.32
5Y div CAGR
32.7%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$57.7K
Annual income
$10,113.78
Full MRK calculator →

Portfolio growth — BUFS vs MRK

📍 MRK pulled ahead of the other in Year 6

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis PeriodBUFSMRK
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%.
📅

Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, BUFS + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
BUFS pays
MRK pays
Both pay
Neither
💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

BUFS
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$743.82/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$1,292.22/yr
MRK
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$238.95/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$8,596.71/yr
At 15% tax rate, MRK beats the other by $7,304.49/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

BUFS: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% BUFS
Portfolio after 10yr
$46.7K
Annual income
$5,817.02/yr
Blended yield
12.45%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

BUFS
No analyst data
MRK
Analyst Ratings
24
Buy
12
Hold
1
Sell
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$128.54
+8.8% 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.
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

BUFS buys
0
MRK buys
8
PoliticianChamberTickerTypeAmountDate
Josh Gottheimer🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002026-02-04
Michael McCaul🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$15,001 - $50,0002026-01-13
Gilbert Cisneros🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-12-19
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-12-18
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-11-13
Ro Khanna🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-09-29
Val Hoyle🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-09-23
Marjorie Taylor Greene🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-28
Julie Johnson🏢 House$MRK▼ Sell$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-14
Gilbert Cisneros🏢 House$MRK▲ Buy$1,001 - $15,0002025-08-05
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricBUFSMRK
Forward yield8.75%2.81%
Annual dividend / share$2.00$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$35.7K$57.7K
Annual income after 10y$1,520.26$10,113.78
Total dividends collected$12.0K$29.8K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare

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

YearBUFS PortfolioBUFS Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1$11,575$875.08$11,213$373.04+$362.00BUFS
2$13,332$946.65$12,667$512.06+$665.00BUFS
3$15,284$1,019.00$14,439$708.14+$845.00BUFS
4$17,446$1,091.79$16,640$988.16+$806.00BUFS
5$19,832$1,164.68$19,432$1,394.07+$400.00BUFS
6← crossover$22,457$1,237.35$23,057$1,992.90$600.00MRK
7$25,339$1,309.50$27,889$2,894.79$2.5KMRK
8$28,493$1,380.86$34,518$4,286.29$6.0KMRK
9$31,939$1,451.19$43,912$6,494.35$12.0KMRK
10$35,695$1,520.26$57,714$10,113.78$22.0KMRK

BUFS vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

BUFSStock

The investment objective of the FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF (the "Fund") is to seek to provide investors with capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by providing investors with small cap equity market exposure while attempting to limit downside risk through a laddered portfolio of FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETFs (the "Underlying ETFs"). Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest substantially all of its assets in the Underlying ETFs, which seek to provide investors with returns (before fees and expenses) that match the price return of IWM, up to a predetermined upside cap, while providing a buffer (before fees and expenses) against the first 15% of IWM losses, over a defined one-year period. The Fund intends only to acquire shares of Underlying ETFs in the secondary market and will not engage in any principal transactions with the Underlying ETFs.

Full BUFS Calculator →

MRKHealthcare

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 →
📬

Get this BUFS vs MRK comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

BUFS vs SCHDBUFS vs JEPIBUFS vs OBUFS vs KOBUFS vs MAINBUFS vs JNJBUFS vs ABBVBUFS vs PFE

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