Merck KGaA Valuation Multiples

NVIDIA is a US semiconductor and accelerated-computing company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It was founded on 5 April 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky and Curtis Priem, and Huang remains president and CEO. The company designs GPUs (GeForce, RTX), data-center AI accelerators and networking, system-on-chip processors and the CUDA software platform. For fiscal 2026 (year ended 25 January 2026) it reported revenue of US$215.9 billion, net income of US$120.1 billion and data-center revenue of US$193.7 billion, with about 42,000 employees. It is listed on Nasdaq (NVDA) and on 29 October 2025 became the first company to reach a US$5 trillion market capitalisation. NVIDIA is also an active strategic investor, taking part in 67 venture deals in 2025 against 54 in 2024, while its NVentures fund made 30 deals in 2025. Its largest commitments include up to US$10 billion in Anthropic (November 2025) and participation in funding rounds of OpenAI, xAI, Mistral AI and Cursor.

Alphabet is a holding company that wholly owns internet giant Google. The California-based company derives slightly less than 90% of its revenue from Google services, the vast majority of which is advertising sales. Alongside online ads, Google services houses sales stemming from Google’s subscription services (YouTube TV and YouTube Music, among others), platforms (sales and in-app purchases on Play Store), and devices (Chromebooks, Pixel smartphones, and smart home products such as Chromecast). Google’s cloud computing platform accounts for roughly 10% of Alphabet’s revenue. The firm’s investments in up-and-coming technologies such as self-driving cars (Waymo), health (Verily), and internet access (Google Fiber) make up the rest.

SpaceX is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk and incorporated in Texas, alongside launch and manufacturing sites in Hawthorne, California, Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Vandenberg Space Force Base. The company designs, builds, and operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the Dragon crew and cargo spacecraft, and the fully reusable Starship vehicle, and has accounted for the large majority of global mass launched to orbit in recent years on the strength of reusable-rocket economics and a high launch cadence. Its Starlink division operates a low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation delivering broadband internet to more than ten million subscribers across roughly 160 countries, while the Starshield program supplies satellite and connectivity services to government and defense customers. In February 2026 SpaceX combined with Musk's artificial intelligence firm xAI, the developer of the Grok chatbot, which had itself absorbed the social platform X, consolidating space, connectivity, and AI operations under common ownership. The company completed an initial public offering on June 12, 2026, one of the largest in market history, and is led by Musk as CEO.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the world's largest dedicated chip foundry, with about 70% market share in 2025. TSMC was founded in 1987 as a joint venture of Philips, the government of Taiwan, and private investors. It went public in Taiwan in 1994 and as an ADR in the US in 1997. TSMC's scale and high-quality technology allow the firm to generate solid operating margins, even in the highly competitive foundry business. Furthermore, the shift to the fabless business model has created tailwinds for TSMC. The foundry leader has an illustrious base of customers, including Apple, AMD, and Nvidia, that look to apply its cutting-edge process technologies to their semiconductor designs. TSMC employs more than 83,000 people.

Meta is the largest social media company in the world, boasting close to 4 billion monthly active users worldwide. The firm's "Family of Apps," its core business, consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. End users can leverage these applications for a variety of different purposes, from keeping in touch with friends to following celebrities and running digital businesses for free. Meta packages customer data, gleaned from its application ecosystem and sells ads to digital advertisers. While the firm has been investing heavily in its Reality Labs business, it remains a very small part of Meta’s overall sales.

Broadcom is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world and has also expanded into infrastructure software. Its semiconductors primarily serve computing, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity. It has a significant position in custom AI chips to train and run inference for large language models. It is primarily a fabless designer but holds some manufacturing in-house. In software, it sells virtualization, infrastructure, and security software to large enterprises, financial institutions, and governments. Broadcom is the product of consolidation. Its businesses are an amalgamation of former companies like legacy Broadcom and Avago Technologies in chips, as well as VMware, Brocade, CA Technologies, and Symantec in software.

Tesla is a vertically integrated battery electric vehicle automaker and developer of real-world artificial intelligence software, which includes autonomous driving and humanoid robots. The company has multiple vehicles in its fleet, which include a midsize sedan and crossover SUV in the entry-level luxury category, a luxury light truck, and a semitruck. Tesla also runs a robotaxi service in four US metropolitan areas. Global deliveries in 2025 were nearly 1.64 million vehicles. Additionally, the company sells batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties, including utilities, solar panels, and solar roofs for energy generation. Tesla also owns a fast-charging network and a US auto insurance business.

Eli Lilly is a drug firm with a focus on neuroscience, cardiometabolic, cancer, and immunology. Lilly's key products include Verzenio and Jaypirca for cancer; Mounjaro, Zepbound, Foundayo, Jardiance, Trulicity, Humalog, and Humulin for cardiometabolic; and Taltz and Olumiant for immunology.

Micron Technology is a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Boise, Idaho. The company designs, develops and manufactures memory and storage technologies used in electronic equipment. Its principal technologies include dynamic random-access memory, NAND flash and NOR memory, which support the storage and retrieval of digital information. Customers use its products in data centres, personal computers, smartphones, vehicles and other connected equipment. Micron earns revenue from sales of memory and storage products to equipment manufacturers and other business customers. Founded in 1978, it developed from a small semiconductor design company into an international manufacturer with fabrication, assembly, testing and research operations. Its manufacturing footprint spans the United States and multiple Asian locations, while design centres and customer laboratories support product development and applications. The company operates under the Micron Technology name and maintains its corporate base in Boise.

Advanced Micro Devices is a United States semiconductor company founded in 1969 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It designs central and graphics processors, data-center accelerators, adaptive computing products and related system-on-chip technology for computer makers, cloud operators, enterprises and embedded-system customers. Revenue comes from sales of chips and computing platforms, intellectual-property arrangements and long-term supply relationships. AMD historically manufactured many of its own processors but later separated fabrication into GlobalFoundries and became primarily a fabless designer. Its products compete in personal computers, gaming consoles, servers, artificial-intelligence infrastructure and industrial applications. Advanced Micro Devices serves B2B and B2C customers through activities spanning Semiconductors, AI Chips & Hardware and Artificial Intelligence.

SK Hynix is a semiconductor memory manufacturer with around 60%-70% of its revenue from DRAM and 30%-35% of its revenue from NAND. The company is both the second-largest DRAM and NAND supplier globally, with a 33% and 21% market share, respectively, as of 2024. SK Hynix increased its market position in NAND from fourth to second, after acquiring Intel's NAND business in 2021. SK Square, an investment management company spun off from SK Telecom, is SK Hynix's largest shareholder and currently holds 20% of the company's shares.

Johnson & Johnson is the world's largest and most diverse healthcare firm. It has two divisions: innovative medicine and medtech. These now represent all of the company's sales following the divestment of the consumer business, Kenvue, in 2023. After restructurings in 2023-24, the drug division focuses on three main therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, and neurology. Geographically, just over half of total revenue is generated in the United States.

AbbVie is a pharmaceutical firm with a strong exposure to immunology (with Humira, Skyrizi, and Rinvoq) and oncology (with Imbruvica and Venclexta). The company was spun off from Abbott in early 2013. The 2020 acquisition of Allergan added several new products and drugs in aesthetics, including Botox. The 2024 acquisitions of Cerevel (neuroscience) and ImmunoGen (oncology) help supplement AbbVie's portfolio.

Intel is a leading digital chipmaker focused on designing and manufacturing microprocessors for the global personal computer and data center markets. Intel pioneered the x86 architecture for microprocessors and led the semiconductor industry down the path of Moore's law for advances in semiconductor manufacturing. Intel remains the market share leader in central processing units in both the PC and server end markets. The company is seeking to reinvigorate its chip manufacturing business, Intel Foundry, while developing leading-edge products in its Intel Products business segment.

CXMT Corp is engaged in the research, design, production and sales of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) products. These DRAM products are widely used in mobile terminals, computers, servers, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Roche is a Swiss biopharmaceutical and diagnostic company. The firm's bestselling pharmaceutical products include a variety of oncology therapies from acquired partner Genentech, and its diagnostics group was bolstered by the acquisition of Ventana in 2008. Oncology products account for 50% of pharmaceutical sales, and centralized and point-of-care diagnostics for more than half of diagnostic-related sales.

Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections. Within cancer, the firm's immuno-oncology platform, led by Keytruda, is a major contributor to overall sales. The company also has a substantial vaccine business aimed at preventing pediatric diseases, as well as Gardasil for human papillomavirus. Additionally, Merck sells animal health-related drugs. From a geographical perspective, 47% of the company's sales are generated from US human health (pharmaceuticals and vaccines).

Lam Research is one of the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment manufacturers in the world. It specializes in deposition and etch, which entail the buildup of layers on a semiconductor and the subsequent selective removal of patterns from each layer. Lam holds the top market share in etch and holds the clear second share in deposition. It is more exposed to memory chipmakers for DRAM and NAND chips. It counts as top customers the largest chipmakers in the world, including TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and Micron.

Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment manufacturer in the world. It has a broad portfolio spanning nearly every corner of the WFE ecosystem. Applied Materials holds leading market share in deposition, which entails the layering of new materials on semiconductor wafers. It is more exposed to general-purpose logic chips made at integrated device manufacturers and foundries. It counts the largest chipmakers in the world as customers, including TSMC, Intel, and Samsung.

Novartis develops and manufactures innovative drugs. Key areas of drug development are oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic. It also has an established medicines business, which includes off-patent franchises. The company sells its products globally, with the United States constituting close to one-third of total revenue.

AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company headquartered on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It discovers, develops and sells prescription medicines and vaccines in oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease, respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases, with medicines such as Tagrisso, Farxiga, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu. The company earns revenue from branded drug sales to health systems worldwide, and in 2025 reported revenue of $58.7 billion, operating income of $13.7 billion and about 89,900 employees. It was formed on 6 April 1999 through the merger of Sweden's Astra AB and the UK's Zeneca Group, itself demerged from Imperial Chemical Industries in 1993. AstraZeneca is listed in London, Stockholm and New York and is led by chief executive Pascal Soriot. It has expanded through acquisitions including MedImmune, a majority stake in Acerta Pharma in 2016 and Alexion Pharmaceuticals in 2021.

Thermo Fisher Scientific sells scientific instruments and laboratory equipment, diagnostics consumables, and life science reagents. The firm operates through four segments as of year-end 2025 (revenue figures include some cross-segment revenue): analytical technologies (17% of sales); specialty diagnostic products (11%); life science solutions (23%); and lab products and services, which includes CRO services (the remainder).

Dallas-based Texas Instruments generates over 95% of its revenue from semiconductors and the remainder from its well-known calculators. Texas Instruments is the world's largest maker of analog chips, which are used to process real-world signals such as sound and power. Texas Instruments also has a leading market share position in processors and microcontrollers used in a wide variety of electronics applications.

Arm Holdings is the IP owner and developer of the ARM architecture, which is used in 99% of the world’s smartphone CPU cores, and it also has high market share in other battery-powered devices like wearables, tablets, or sensors. Arm licenses its architecture for a fee, offering different types of licenses depending on the flexibility the customer needs. Customers like Apple or Qualcomm buy architectural licenses, which allow them to modify the architecture and add or delete instructions to tailor the chips to their specific needs. Other clients directly buy off-the-shelf designs from Arm. Both off-the-shelf and architectural customers pay a royalty fee per chip shipped.

Amgen is a leader in biotechnology-based human therapeutics. Flagship drugs include red blood cell boosters Epogen and Aranesp, immune system boosters Neupogen and Neulasta, and Enbrel and Otezla for inflammatory diseases. Amgen introduced its first cancer therapeutic, Vectibix, in 2006 and markets bone-strengthening drugs Prolia/Xgeva (approved 2010) and Evenity (2019). The acquisition of Onyx Pharmaceuticals bolstered the firm's therapeutic oncology portfolio with Kyprolis. Recent launches include Repatha (cholesterol-lowering), Aimovig (migraine), Lumakras (lung cancer), and Tezspire (asthma). The 2023 Horizon acquisition brought several rare-disease drugs, including thyroid eye disease drug Tepezza. Amgen also has a growing biosimilar portfolio.

Siemens is a German industrial technology group headquartered in Munich that supplies automation, electrification, rail and healthcare equipment, software and services. It was founded in Berlin on October 1, 1847 by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske as Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske. The group reports through Digital Industries (factory automation and industrial software), Smart Infrastructure (buildings and electrical distribution), Siemens Mobility (rolling stock, signalling and rail systems) and Siemens Financial Services, and holds about 75% of separately listed Siemens Healthineers. It sells mainly to manufacturers, utilities, infrastructure owners, transit operators and hospitals, and in fiscal 2025 generated revenue of €78.9 billion and net income of €10.4 billion with about 327,000 employees. In 2020 it spun off Siemens Energy, keeping a 17.1% stake, and bought Varian Medical Systems for US$16.4 billion; in 2025 it added Altair Engineering for about US$10 billion, its largest acquisition, and Dotmatics for US$5.1 billion. Roland Busch has been chief executive since February 2021, and the shares trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as a DAX member.

Arista Networks is a networking equipment provider that primarily sells Ethernet switches and software to data centers. Its marquee product is its extensible operating system that runs a single image across every single one of its devices. The firm operates as one reportable segment. It has steadily gained market share since its founding in 2004, with a focus on high-speed applications. Arista counts Microsoft and Meta Platforms as its largest customers and derives roughly three-fourths of its sales from North America.

KLA is one of the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, or WFE, manufacturers in the world. It specializes in the market segment of semiconductor process control, wherein machines inspect semiconductor wafers during research and development and manufacturing for defects and verify precise measurements. In this section of the market, KLA holds a majority share. It also has a small exposure to the etch and deposition segments of the WFE market. It counts as top customers the largest chipmakers in the world, including TSMC and Samsung.

Founded in 1997, MediaTek is a fabless semiconductor designer focusing on solutions for smartphones, digital televisions, and connectivity products. The business is divided into three segments. The first is "mobile," which accounts for more than half of sales, where MediaTek is the second-largest third-party supplier of smartphone SoCs by revenue to the likes of Xiaomi and Vivo. The second is "smart edge," which accounts for just over 40% of sales, that covers most devices other than smartphones. The third is "power IC" that includes power management products for mobile devices, data centers, connectivity devices and more. Mediatek is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan and employs about 22,400 people.

Marvell Technology is a fabless chip designer focused on wired networking, where it has the second-highest market share. Marvell serves the data center, carrier, enterprise, and consumer end markets with processors, optical and copper transceivers, switches, and storage controllers.

Amphenol is a United States manufacturer of electrical, electronic and fiber-optic interconnect products, sensors and cable systems. Its connector portfolio supports applications involving high-speed data, electrical power, radio-frequency signals and operation in demanding environments. The company also supplies cable assemblies, wiring harnesses, antennas, power distribution components and flexible or rigid printed circuit boards. Its sensors measure conditions such as pressure, temperature, position, moisture and vibration. Customers use these products in automotive systems, industrial equipment, communications networks, computing infrastructure, aerospace and other electronic applications. Revenue comes from sales of components and assemblies to business customers that incorporate them into larger products and systems. Amphenol offers both standard products and customized designs, with manufacturing and technical capabilities supporting customers across international markets.

CATL, headquartered in Ningde, Fujian Province, is a global leading battery manufacturer founded in 2011. The company specializes in the development and production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle and energy storage systems. CATL is the largest EV battery manufacturer in the world and leads the industry in innovative battery technology development for higher-energy density and safety, longer battery service life, and super-fast charging. CATL is also involved in the manufacturing of cathode and other related battery materials. Through subsidiary Brunp, it works with customers to create a closed-loop battery life cycle from production, application, to recycling.

Gilead Sciences develops and markets therapies to treat and prevent life-threatening infectious diseases, with the core of its portfolio focused on HIV and hepatitis B and C. Gilead's acquisition of Pharmasset brought rights to hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, which is also part of newer combination regimens that remain standards of care. Gilead is also growing its presence in the oncology market via acquisitions, led by CAR-T cell therapy Yescarta/Tecartus (from Kite) and breast and bladder cancer therapy Trodelvy (from Immunomedics).

Analog Devices is a leading analog, mixed-signal, and digital-signal processing chipmaker. The firm has a significant market share lead in converter chips, which are used to translate analog signals to digital and vice versa. The company serves tens of thousands of customers; more than half of its chip sales are to industrial and automotive end markets. ADI's chips are also incorporated into wireless infrastructure equipment.

Qualcomm is a San Diego semiconductor, software and wireless-technology company founded in 1985. It designs modem, radio-frequency, connectivity, automotive and computing platforms used by device manufacturers and network operators worldwide. The company develops and licenses a large portfolio of patents essential to cellular standards and earns revenue through chip sales and technology licensing. Its Snapdragon platforms combine processors, connectivity, graphics and artificial-intelligence capabilities for smartphones, vehicles, personal computers and connected devices. Qualcomm also invests in and acquires technologies that extend its wireless intellectual-property base into adjacent markets. At the time of the HaloIPT transaction, its European Innovation Development group was pursuing wireless-power systems for electric vehicles. Qualcomm acquired substantially all HaloIPT technology and hired its team in November 2011 while establishing a continuing research relationship with Auckland UniServices. The company is publicly traded on Nasdaq and primarily serves manufacturers, carriers and enterprise customers.

Abbott manufactures and markets cardiovascular and diabetes devices, adult and pediatric nutritional products, diagnostic equipment and testing kits, and branded generic drugs. Products include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, neuromodulation devices, coronary stents, catheters, infant formula, nutritional liquids for adults, continuous glucose monitors, and immunoassays and point-of-care diagnostic equipment. Abbott derives roughly 60% of sales outside the United States.

With roughly one-third of the global branded diabetes treatment market, Novo Nordisk is the world's leading provider of diabetes care products. Based in Denmark, the company manufactures and markets a variety of human and modern insulins for patients with diabetes, as well as injectable and oral GLP-1 therapies, across its obesity and diabetes care segment. Novo also has a rare disease segment (contributing less than 10% of revenue) that specializes in protein therapies for hemophilia and other disorders.

Pfizer is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms, with annual sales of roughly $60 billion. While it historically sold many types of healthcare products and chemicals, now prescription drugs and vaccines account for the majority of sales. Top sellers include pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar 13 and cardiology drugs Vyndaqel and Eliquis. Pfizer sells these products globally, with international sales representing 40% of total sales. Within international sales, emerging markets are a major contributor.

Hitachi Ltd is engaged in diverse businesses spanning industries, energy, IT, and real estate. The company operates through four business segments. The Connective Industries segment covers elevators, escalators, home appliances, air conditioning, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, medical analyzers, industrial and distribution solutions, water and environmental solutions, and industrial equipment. The Digital Systems & Services segment offers system integration, consulting, cloud services, IT products, software, and ATMs. The Green Energy & Mobility segment focuses on power grids, renewable energy, nuclear power, and railway systems. The Others include real estate management, sales, and leasing. It generates the majority of its revenue from the Green Energy & Mobility segment.

In 1984, Danaher's founders transformed a real estate organization into an industrial-focused manufacturing company. Then, through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, Danaher now focuses primarily on manufacturing scientific instruments and consumables in the life sciences and diagnostic industries after the late 2023 divestiture of its environmental and applied solutions group, Veralto.

Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Tokyo, Advantest specializes in semiconductor test systems and is a well-known leader in automated test equipment, or ATE. Advantest also has a high market share in test systems for nonmemory semiconductors, including application processors for mobile phones. The company is also involved in peripheral businesses, such as semiconductor device transport equipment. Following its acquisition of Verigy in July 2011, Advantest holds a market share of over 60% in the ATE market.

Intuitive develops, produces, and markets a robotic system for assisting minimally invasive surgery. It also provides the instrumentation, disposable accessories, and warranty services for the system. The company has placed more than 10,000 da Vinci systems in hospitals worldwide, with more than 6,000 installations in the US and a growing number in emerging markets.

Seagate is a data storage company that makes hard disk drives, and together with Western Digital it dominates the global hard drive market. Its parent, Seagate Technology Holdings plc, has been legally domiciled in Dublin, Ireland since 2010, while its operational headquarters is in Fremont, California. The company designs and manufactures hard disk drives, hybrid drives and solid-state drives, as well as LaCie-branded external storage, and sells them mainly to cloud and enterprise data-center operators, PC and device makers, distributors and retailers. Seagate earns its revenue from product sales and reported revenue of $9.10 billion and net income of $1.47 billion for the fiscal year ended June 27, 2025, with about 30,000 employees, nearly half of them at manufacturing and R&D sites in Thailand. It was incorporated on November 1, 1978 as Shugart Technology and began operations in 1979, founded by Al Shugart, Tom Mitchell, Doug Mahon, Finis Conner and Syed Iftikar, and in 1980 introduced the first 5.25-inch hard disk drive, the ST-506. Much of its growth came through acquisitions, including Control Data's Imprimis division in 1989, Conner Peripherals in 1996, Maxtor in 2006 and Samsung's hard drive business in 2011. Its shares trade on Nasdaq under the ticker STX, and Dave Mosley is chairman and chief executive.

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co Ltd is engaged in the design, research and development, manufacturing, and sales of various electronic equipment products. The company's main products include communications network equipment, cloud service equipment, precision tools, and industrial robots.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a global biotechnology company that discovers and develops small-molecule drugs for the treatment of serious diseases. Its key drugs are Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko, and Trikafta/Kaftrio, and Alyftrek for cystic fibrosis, where Vertex therapies remain the standard of care globally. Vertex has diversified its portfolio through Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy for beta thalassemia and sickle-cell disease, and Journavx, a non-opioid pain medication approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain in adults. Additionally, Vertex is evaluating small-molecule inhibitors of APOL1-mediated kidney diseases. Vertex is also investigating cell therapies to deliver a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes.

Western Digital is a leading vertically integrated supplier of hard disk drives. The HDD market is a practical duopoly, with Western Digital and Seagate being the two largest players. Western Digital designs and manufactures its HDDs, with much of the manufacturing and workforce located in Asia. The primary consumers of HDDs are data centers.

Founded in 1902, Air Liquide is one of the leading industrial gas companies in the world, serving over 3.8 million customers in 78 countries. The company generated approximately EUR 27.9 billion of revenue in 2025, serving a wide range of industries, including chemicals, energy, healthcare, food and beverage, and electronics. Air Liquide employs approximately 65,000 people.

Keyence Corporation, founded in May 1974 by Takemitsu Takizaki and headquartered in Osaka, Japan, began as Lead Electric Co., Ltd. before rebranding to Keyence (derived from “KEY of sciENCE”) in 1986. As a global leader in industrial automation, the company designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of high-precision products, including sensors (photoelectric, laser, proximity), machine vision systems, measurement instruments (laser displacement sensors, 3D scanners), control systems (PLCs, HMIs), laser markers, digital microscopes, and safety equipment.