Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Debt-to-Equity Ratio
As of May 22, 2026
TL;DR — MRK debt-to-equity is 0.96
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) currently carries a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96 (moderate). Interest coverage is N/A and the current ratio is 1.54. Debt and equity are roughly balanced. Common for capital-intensive or asset-heavy businesses.
Current leverage profile
Debt / Equity
0.96
Total debt / shareholder equity
Interest coverage
N/A
EBIT / interest expense
Current ratio
1.54
Short-term liquidity
D/E in isolation is a starting point, not a verdict. To get a credible read on solvency you also want to see interest coverage above 3x (so EBIT comfortably pays interest) and a current ratio above 1.2 (so short-term assets cover short-term obligations). When those two are healthy, even a higher D/E is usually manageable.
5-Year debt-to-equity trend
The direction of travel matters as much as the absolute level. A D/E that has been rising over the past five years tells you the management team is leaning more on debt — either to fund growth (good if returns on capital exceed cost of debt) or because cash flow can't keep up (bad).
Series illustrated from current D/E. Full 5-year quarterly history ships in the upcoming balance-sheet ingest.
Industry comparison
The Healthcare sector median D/E is roughly 0.55. MRK's reading of 0.96 is currently ~75% above the sector median, meaning MRK is materially more reliant on debt than its peers. Stress-test the dividend, the next major maturity, and the interest coverage before owning it..
Compare MRK against every Healthcare peer in the full sector list.
Interpreting MRK's debt-to-equity
What "Moderate" means here: Debt and equity are roughly balanced. Common for capital-intensive or asset-heavy businesses.
Sector context matters: a D/E of 1.5 in financials or utilities is normal. The same number in software or pharma is a yellow flag. Always anchor your read against the sector median above before forming a view.
Watch the direction: a slowly rising D/E is fine if return on invested capital (see the fundamentals page) is comfortably above the cost of debt. A rapidly rising D/E paired with deteriorating ROIC is the classic distressed-equity pattern.
Stress test: ask yourself what MRK looks like if revenue drops 20% for two years. With its current interest coverage of N/A, can the company keep paying interest? The Altman Z-Score on the fundamentals page is a quick formal version of this question.
Related MRK analyses
Frequently asked about MRK debt-to-equity
What is MRK's debt-to-equity ratio?↓
MRK's current debt-to-equity ratio is 0.96 as of May 22, 2026. That puts it in the "Moderate" category. Debt and equity are roughly balanced. Common for capital-intensive or asset-heavy businesses.
How is debt-to-equity calculated?↓
Debt-to-equity = total debt / shareholders' equity. Total debt usually includes both short-term and long-term interest-bearing borrowings (sometimes called total liabilities in older definitions). We use the FMP "debtEquityRatioTTM" field, which is total debt over equity on a trailing twelve-month basis.
Is MRK's D/E ratio safe?↓
"Safe" depends on the business model. A 0.96 D/E is moderate. The more important question is cash coverage: with an interest-coverage ratio of N/A and a current ratio of 1.54, MRK can service its debt obligations at the current operating level.
How does MRK compare to the Healthcare average?↓
The Healthcare sector median D/E is roughly 0.55. MRK's 0.96 is materially more levered than peers (about 75% above the median).
When is high debt-to-equity dangerous?↓
High D/E is dangerous when (1) cash flow coverage is weak (interest coverage below 3x), (2) earnings are cyclical or capital-intensive, (3) refinancing exposure is concentrated in the next 12-24 months, (4) the company is paying out a large dividend or running buybacks while issuing more debt. Conversely, high D/E can be perfectly fine for stable-cash-flow utilities, REITs, and regulated financials — context matters.