ACTG
Acacia Research Corporation
ACTG offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ACTG overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
ACTG Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
ACTG's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability is weak.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ACTG PE Valuation
ACTG has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
ACTG Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ACTG's losses to shrink, with revenue growing.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
ACTG Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$0.19 | -480% |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.16 | -$0.10 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.19 | -$0.08 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.22 | +$0.58 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.05 | -94% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.06 | -106% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.11 | -117% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.36 | -162% |
ACTG has swung to a loss: it lost $0.19 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
CAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.73 | +17% |
| 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 has the edge over ACTG on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ACTG Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.4M | -8.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $114.6M | +124% |
| Q1 2026 | $54.2M | -56% |
| Q4 2025 | $50.1M | +2.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $59.4M | +155% |
| Q2 2025 | $51.2M | +98% |
| Q1 2025 | $124.4M | +412% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.8M | -47% |
ACTG has the edge over CAT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -6.6% | +4.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7.4% | +32 points |
| Q1 2026 | -15% | -46 points |
| Q4 2025 | -26% | +6.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -11% | +33 points |
| Q2 2025 | -24% | -5.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +39 points |
| Q4 2024 | -32% | -95 points |
ACTG's operating margin was −6.6% last quarter, up 4.2 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's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $20.7B last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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 ACTG on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ACTG Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $15M | +57% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.9M | -92% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.4M | +916% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.2M | +$36.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $9.5M | +$12.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $50.1M | +$176.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $335K | -99% |
| Q4 2024 | -$23.6M | -$19M |
ACTG has the edge over CAT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
ACTG Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -531K shares |
| 1 year | +1.2% | +1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -1.5% | -1.5M shares |
| 5 years | +101% | +49M shares |
| Available history | +79% | +43.2M shares |
ACTG has 98M diluted shares, up 1.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $13M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | $11.5M |
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 ACTG 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.
ACTG Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -15.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -12.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -222.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -4.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -4.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -4.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -246.8x | Net Cash |
ACTG has the edge over CAT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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 more cash than debt.
ACTG Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.5 | Neutral |
ACTG's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (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).
ACTG PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ACTG | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 24x | — |
ACTG has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
ACTG Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $4.26 | 2.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $4.44 | 6.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $4.41 | 5.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $4.04 | 3% above |
| 200 week MA | $4.19 | 0.7% below |
ACTG's trend is mixed: it's above one of its five weekly moving averages, and 0.7% below its 200-week average.
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 the edge over ACTG on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ACTG Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2.67 | $4.10 | +54% |
| 2021 | $4.10 | $5.23 | +28% |
| 2022 | $5.23 | $3.98 | -24% |
| 2023 | $3.98 | $3.92 | -1.5% |
| 2024 | $3.92 | $4.37 | +11% |
| 2025 | $4.37 | $3.73 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.73 | $4.16 | +12% |
ACTG 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.