HomeCompareMRK vs DARDEN

MRK vs DARDEN: Dividend Comparison 2026

MRK yields 2.81% · DARDEN yields 4.00%● Live data

vsPost on X →
After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled
🏆 MRK wins by $29.7K 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 →
DARDEN
DARDEN
● Live price
4.00%
Share price
$50.00
Annual div
$2.00
5Y div CAGR
5%
Payout ratio
50%
After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP
Portfolio value
$28.0K
Annual income
$899.19
Full DARDEN calculator →

Portfolio growth — MRK vs DARDEN

📍 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 PeriodMRKDARDEN
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 + DARDEN cover 0 of 12 monthsgood coverage

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
MRK pays
DARDEN 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
DARDEN
Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)
$340.00/yr
After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)
$764.31/yr
At 15% tax rate, MRK beats the other by $7,832.40/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000
⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

MRK: 50%DARDEN: 50%
100% DARDEN50/50100% MRK
Portfolio after 10yr
$42.9K
Annual income
$5,506.49/yr
Blended yield
12.84%
📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on MRK 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
DARDEN
No analyst data
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
DARDEN buys
0
No recent congressional trades found for MRK or DARDEN in the last 90 days.
STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →
MetricMRKDARDEN
Forward yield2.81%4.00%
Annual dividend / share$3.32$2.00
Payout ratio50%50%
1-year div growth0%5%
5-year div CAGR32.7%5%
Portfolio after 10y$57.7K$28.0K
Annual income after 10y$10,113.78$899.19
Total dividends collected$29.8K$6.4K
Payment frequencyquarterlyquarterly
SectorHealthcareStock

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

YearMRK PortfolioMRK Income/yrDARDEN PortfolioDARDEN Income/yrGap
1← crossover$11,213$373.04$11,120$420.00+$93.00MRK
2$12,667$512.06$12,357$458.31+$310.00MRK
3$14,439$708.14$13,721$499.76+$718.00MRK
4$16,640$988.16$15,227$544.58+$1.4KMRK
5$19,432$1,394.07$16,885$593.02+$2.5KMRK
6$23,057$1,992.90$18,713$645.34+$4.3KMRK
7$27,889$2,894.79$20,724$701.81+$7.2KMRK
8$34,518$4,286.29$22,938$762.73+$11.6KMRK
9$43,912$6,494.35$25,372$828.41+$18.5KMRK
10$57,714$10,113.78$28,047$899.19+$29.7KMRK

MRK vs DARDEN: 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 →

DARDENStock

DARDEN is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in DARDEN shares.

Full DARDEN Calculator →
📬

Get this MRK vs DARDEN comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

MRK vs JNJMRK vs ABBVMRK vs PFEMRK vs BMYMRK vs LLYMRK vs SCHDMRK vs JEPIMRK vs O

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