ACCO
ACCO Brands Corporation
ACCO offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ACCO overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ACCO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
ACCO's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ACCO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 5.7x | $3.97 | -26% |
| Forward | 5.8x | $5.35 | — |
| Current | 7.6x | $5.35 | — |
| Fair | 8.6x | $6.00 | +12% |
| Expensive | 11x | $8.04 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ACCO has the edge over CAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CAT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 15x | $380 | -37% |
| Fair | 18x | $461 | -24% |
| Forward | 20x | $605 | — |
| Current | 24x | $605 | — |
| Expensive | 33x | $840 | +39% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CAT's PE is in its expensive range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 20x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
ACCO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ACCO, with profitability holding steady.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
ACCO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.92 | +31% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.70 | +67% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.62 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.78 | +$1.91 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.44 | +$1.50 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.42 | +$2.30 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.47 | +$2.29 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.13 | -$0.87 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.06 | -$0.83 |
ACCO has the edge over CAT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $30.32 | +19% |
| Q3 2026 | $25.48 | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $23.23 | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.08 | -2% |
| Q4 2025 | $18.81 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.46 | -9.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $19.64 | -10% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.50 | -7.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $22.05 | +9.6% |
CAT earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
ACCO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $380.3M | -0.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $415.1M | +5.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $343.7M | +8.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $428.8M | -4.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $383.7M | -8.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $394.8M | -9.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $317.4M | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $448.1M | -8.3% |
ACCO's revenue fell from its 2021 peak and has held roughly level since: $380M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.3% | 0 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.8% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.4% | +34 points |
| Q1 2025 | -2.1% | -3.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.4% | +20 points |
ACCO's operating margin was 8% last quarter, up 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CAT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.7B | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $20.5B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $17.4B | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $19.1B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $17.6B | +9.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.6B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.2B | -9.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | -5% |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | +3.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | +3.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -4.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 17% | -2.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -3.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -4.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | -0.3 points |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ACCO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $131.4M | +84% |
| Q2 2026 | -$35.3M | +$3.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $3.5M | -36% |
| Q4 2025 | $30.6M | -42% |
| Q3 2025 | $71.5M | -23% |
| Q2 2025 | -$38.9M | -$13.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $5.5M | -80% |
| Q4 2024 | $52.7M | -9.1% |
ACCO generated $130M in free cash flow over the past year, up 43% from the year before.
CAT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.7B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.8B | +47% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +97% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7B | +0.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.1B | -1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | -4.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $579M | -63% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.7B | -22% |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ACCO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +400K shares |
| 1 year | +2.9% | +2.7M shares |
| 3 years | -0.7% | -700K shares |
| 5 years | -1.3% | -1.3M shares |
| Available history | -5% | -5M shares |
ACCO has 96M diluted shares, up 2.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $100,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $15M |
| Q4 2024 | $2.5M |
ACCO hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
CAT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -1.6M shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -9.9M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -51.7M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -86.7M shares |
| Available history | -19% | -107M shares |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.5B |
| Q1 2026 | $5B |
| Q4 2025 | $340M |
| Q3 2025 | $362M |
| Q2 2025 | $828M |
| Q1 2025 | $3.7B |
| Q4 2024 | $640M |
CAT spent $8.1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 47% from the year before.
ACCO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.5x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 5.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 4.9x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.7x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 33.9x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 21.1x | High |
ACCO's net debt is about 4.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.7 years a year ago.
CAT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
CAT has the edge over ACCO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ACCO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 67.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 75.7 | Neutral |
ACCO's weekly RSI is 67 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 76 (neutral).
CAT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 32.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.7 | Oversold |
CAT's weekly RSI is 33 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 7 (oversold).
ACCO PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ACCO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 7.6x | 24x | 68% below |
| PE % | 39 | 58 | 19 pts below |
ACCO has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
ACCO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $4.76 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $4.43 | 21% above |
| 50 week MA | $4.01 | 33% above |
| 100 week MA | $4.06 | 32% above |
| 200 week MA | $4.72 | 13% above |
ACCO has the edge over CAT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
CAT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $709.0 | 15% below |
| 20 week MA | $797.0 | 24% below |
| 50 week MA | $771.3 | 22% below |
| 100 week MA | $586.7 | 3.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $443.1 | 37% above |
CAT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 37% above its 200-week average.
ACCO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.34 | $8.53 | -8.7% |
| 2021 | $8.53 | $8.05 | -5.6% |
| 2022 | $8.05 | $5.58 | -31% |
| 2023 | $5.58 | $6.08 | +9% |
| 2024 | $6.08 | $5.25 | -14% |
| 2025 | $5.25 | $3.73 | -29% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.73 | $5.35 | +43% |
ACCO has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CAT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $148.3 | $179.6 | +21% |
| 2021 | $179.6 | $206.2 | +15% |
| 2022 | $206.2 | $239.9 | +16% |
| 2023 | $239.9 | $295.7 | +23% |
| 2024 | $295.7 | $364.9 | +23% |
| 2025 | $364.9 | $583.0 | +60% |
| 2026 YTD | $583.0 | $605.3 | +3.8% |
CAT has finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.