MRK

At 16x, the price is a reasonable multiple of the company's annual profit.

Share price divided by earnings per share: what you pay for each $1 of yearly profit. Roughly 15 to 25 is typical, above 40 is richly priced, and negative means the company is losing money.

A 2.8% yield is a healthy, generally sustainable level of cash income.

The yearly dividend as a percent of the share price: the cash income each share pays out. Around 2 to 6% is healthy; above roughly 8% often signals the payout may be cut.

A 28.1% margin is strong; the company keeps a healthy slice of every revenue dollar.

The share of revenue left as profit once every cost is paid. Above 15% is strong; below 5% leaves little cushion against a bad year.

A 34.7% return on equity is strong; the company compounds owners' capital well.

Profit earned on each dollar of shareholder equity: how well the company compounds its owners' capital. Above 15% is strong.

A 13.3% return on assets is strong; the company squeezes good profit from its assets.

Profit earned on each dollar of assets: how efficiently the whole asset base is used. Above 8% is strong.

At 1.54, short-term assets comfortably cover short-term bills.

Current assets divided by current liabilities: whether short-term resources cover short-term bills. Above 1.5 is comfortable; below 1 is tight.