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MRK vs COST: Dividend Comparison 2026

MRK yields 2.81% · COST yields 0.52%● Live data

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After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $27.6K in total portfolio value
10 years
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 →
COST
COST
● Live price
0.52%
Share price
$996.58
Annual div
$5.20
5Y div CAGR
47%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$30.1K
Annual income
$3,341.06
Full COST calculator →

Portfolio growth — MRK vs COST

📍 MRK pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

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 PeriodMRKCOST
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, MRK + COST cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

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

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

MRK
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$238.95/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$8,596.71/yr
COST
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$44.35/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$2,839.90/yr
At 15% tax rate, MRK beats the other by $5,756.81/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

MRK: 50%COST: 50%
100% COST50/50100% MRK
Portfolio after 10yr
$43.9K
Annual income
$6,727.42/yr
Blended yield
15.33%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on COST right now

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
COST
Analyst Ratings
38
Buy
19
Hold
1
Sell
Consensus: Buy
Price Target
$1,061.33
+6.5% upside vs current
Range: $769.00 — $1,175.00
Altman Z
9.4
Piotroski
8/9
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)

MRK buys
0
COST buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for MRK or COST in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricMRKCOST
Forward yield2.81%0.52%
Annual dividend / share$3.32$5.20
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%0%
5-year div CAGR32.7%47%
Portfolio after 10y$57.7K$30.1K
Annual income after 10y$10,113.78$3,341.06
Total dividends collected$29.8K$9.2K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorHealthcareConsumer Staples
Analyst consensusBuyBuy
Analyst price target$128.54$1,061.33

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

YearMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrCOST PortfolioCOST Income/yrGap
1← crossover$11,213$373.04$10,777$76.70+$436.00MRK
2$12,667$512.06$11,645$113.56+$1.0KMRK
3$14,439$708.14$12,628$168.58+$1.8KMRK
4$16,640$988.16$13,763$251.16+$2.9KMRK
5$19,432$1,394.07$15,103$376.07+$4.3KMRK
6$23,057$1,992.90$16,727$566.94+$6.3KMRK
7$27,889$2,894.79$18,761$862.64+$9.1KMRK
8$34,518$4,286.29$21,403$1,329.21+$13.1KMRK
9$43,912$6,494.35$24,985$2,083.31+$18.9KMRK
10$57,714$10,113.78$30,075$3,341.06+$27.6KMRK

MRK vs COST: Complete Analysis 2026

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 →

COSTConsumer Staples

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company offers sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco and deli products; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio products, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. It also operates pharmacies, opticals, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers, as well as 636 gas stations; and offers business delivery, travel, same-day grocery, and various other services online in various countries. As of August 29, 2021, the company operated 815 membership warehouses, including 564 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, 3 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, and 1 in China. It also operates e-commerce websites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Full COST 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.