Orin
MRSHNYSE·Insurance - Brokers

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MRSH

Market cap $81.4BP/E 20.8× trailingGross margin 42.4%Reports Thu 15 Oct, before the open
$170.65
+0.27 (+0.16%)live 09:30 ET
52-wk $156.60 – $207.83
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 30 Aug · take v6. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Marsh & McLennan's FY2025 fundamentals show strong top-line momentum — revenue grew 10.3% to $26.98B and free cash flow improved to $5.00B (18.5% FCF margin) — but EPS growth of just 3.1% ($8.43 vs $8.18) reveals margin compression, with net margin declining from 16.6% to 15.4% and operating margin from 23.8% to 23.1%. At $192.64, MRSH trades at a 45.1% EV/EBITDA premium and 18.1% P/E premium to peer medians, above DCF-derived intrinsic value near $187, while the MACD histogram has turned negative and smart money remains slightly negative (-0.0046 score as of 2026-06-30).

The Oliver Wyman-Anthropic Claude partnership announced on August 27 is a strategic positive, but the current valuation leaves limited upside while margin compression adds execution risk.

What could go wrong

  • Margin compression persisting. Net margin declined from 16.6% in FY2024 to 15.4% in FY2025 while gross margin slipped from 42.8% to 42.3%, suggesting rising costs are eroding profitability despite double-digit revenue growth.
  • Valuation premium stretched. At 23.5x P/E and 19.6x EV/EBITDA, MRSH trades at an 18.1% P/E premium and 45.1% EV/EBITDA premium to peer medians, limiting the margin of safety if growth decelerates.
  • Momentum cooling at highs. MACD histogram is negative at -0.31 despite the stock trading above both its 50-day ($182.44) and 200-day ($177.80) moving averages, suggesting near-term upward momentum is fading near $192.64.
  • Smart money lukewarm. Smart money score is slightly negative at -0.0046 as of 2026-06-30 with 66 funds, and has been in negative territory for most of the trailing year, indicating institutional positioning is not strongly supportive.

What would change my mind

Margin recovery in Q3 2026. Q3 2026 results show net margin stabilization or expansion back toward 16%+ with revenue growth sustaining above 8%bullish
Further margin deterioration. Q3 2026 results show continued net margin compression below 15% or EPS growth fails to reaccelerate toward high-single digitsbearish
Smart money turns positive. Next 13F cycle (Q3 2026, available ~2026-11-14) shows smart money score moving above 0.02 with fund count increasingbullish
Valuation mean reversion. EV/EBITDA premium to peer median narrows below 30% without a corresponding earnings acceleration, or DCF intrinsic value estimate declines further below current pricebearish

Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 annual; derived_metrics · FMP FY2025 vs FY2024 annual; derived_metrics · derived_metrics FY2024 vs FY2025 · FMP FY2025 annual; derived_metrics. Orin's read on MRSH; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$5.2B0.1% of fund
State Street$3.7B0.1% of fund
Capital World Investors$3.0B0.4% of fund
Wellington Management Group Llp$2.8B0.5% of fund
Geode Capital Management$2.3B0.1% of fund
Price T Rowe Associates /Md/$2.2B0.2% of fund

111 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 193 Form 4 filings, net $43.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 7 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Financial Services
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E20.8×25.7×21.6×
EV/EBITDA17.7×17.9×
P/S2.91×4.12×
P/B5.4×7.8×

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.18σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

4.9%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $5.0B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

34 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$203

$182$234 · +19% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 11 buy or overweight
  • 22 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 16.2× of 8 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
MRSHMarsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.$81B20.8×17.7×42.4%14.2%27%
AJGArthur J. Gallagher & Co.$59B37.6×15.0×74.6%10.0%7%
AONAon plc$60B15.4×11.8×83.1%22.3%43%
BROBrown & Brown, Inc.$21B17.0×11.4×59.0%17.6%10%
CBChubb Limited$129B11.8×11.9×39.6%18.1%15%
ERIEErie Indemnity Company$10B18.2×12.9×16.5%14.0%25%
NTRSNorthern Trust Corporation$32B14.9×59.8%14.8%17%
PGRThe Progressive Corporation$118B10.2×8.2×26.9%12.8%35%
WTWWillis Towers Watson Public Limited Company$28B18.3×12.4×53.8%15.5%20%

The median is of the 8 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 27.8% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 21.3×FY25 21.9×

What its sector has traded at

Financial Services
FY14 29.6×FY26 23.9×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$273$168.17 · +62%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$237$168.17 · +41%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $170.65
52-week range$157 – $208
Analyst targets$182 – $234
Standard DCF$273 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $168.17
Levered DCF$237 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $168.17
At own 5y-median P/E (26×)$211
At 5y P/E range (22–28×)$178 – $230
At sector P/E (22×)$177

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.