HomeCompareLDRS vs MRK

LDRS vs MRK: Dividend Comparison 2026

LDRS yields 7.07% · MRK yields 2.76%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $24.8K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 4
10 years
LDRS
LDRS
● Live price
7.07%
Share price
$28.27
Annual div
$2.00
5Y div CAGR
0%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$31.9K
Annual income
$1,108.63
Full LDRS 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 — LDRS vs MRK

📍 MRK pulled ahead of the other in Year 4

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 PeriodLDRSMRK
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, LDRS + MRK cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

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

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

LDRS
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$601.34/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$942.34/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, MRK beats the other by $7,386.08/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

LDRS: 50%MRK: 50%
100% MRK50/50100% LDRS
Portfolio after 10yr
$44.4K
Annual income
$5,453.38/yr
Blended yield
12.29%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK right now

LDRS
No analyst data
MRK
Analyst Ratings
25
Buy
11
Hold
1
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.
🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

LDRS buys
0
MRK buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for LDRS or MRK in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricLDRSMRK
Forward yield7.07%2.76%
Annual dividend / share$2.00$3.32
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR0%32.7%
Portfolio after 10y$31.9K$56.8K
Annual income after 10y$1,108.63$9,798.13
Total dividends collected$9.1K$28.9K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorStockHealthcare

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

YearLDRS PortfolioLDRS Income/yrMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrGap
1$11,407$707.46$11,206$366.19+$201.00LDRS
2$12,960$754.24$12,650$502.35+$310.00LDRS
3$14,668$800.85$14,407$694.19+$261.00LDRS
4← crossover$16,542$847.10$16,585$967.82$43.00MRK
5$18,593$892.81$19,342$1,363.89$749.00MRK
6$20,832$937.85$22,913$1,947.19$2.1KMRK
7$23,273$982.06$27,662$2,823.89$4.4KMRK
8$25,927$1,025.33$34,159$4,173.35$8.2KMRK
9$28,809$1,067.55$43,337$6,308.80$14.5KMRK
10$31,935$1,108.63$56,776$9,798.13$24.8KMRK

LDRS vs MRK: Complete Analysis 2026

LDRSStock

The investment seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the IBD® ETF Leaders Index. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (including investment borrowings) in the exchange-traded investment companies that comprise the index. It generally invests in all of the securities comprising the index in proportion to the weightings of the securities in the index. The index is a rules-based index owned and developed by Investor's Business Daily® designed to attempt to outperform the broader equity and fixed income markets. The fund is non-diversified.

Full LDRS 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 LDRS vs MRK comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

LDRS vs SCHDLDRS vs JEPILDRS vs OLDRS vs KOLDRS vs MAINLDRS vs JNJLDRS vs ABBVLDRS 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.