AGX
Argan, Inc.
AGX has the edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
AGX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AGX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
AGX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $215 | -32% |
| Forward | 22x | $315 | — |
| Current | 25x | $315 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $326 | +3.5% |
| Expensive | 43x | $546 | +73% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AGX 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.
AGX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for AGX, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
AGX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $14.39 | +14% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.64 | +51% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.38 | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.74 | +58% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.53 | +78% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.36 | +163% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.17 | +155% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.15 | +157% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.78 | +94% |
AGX 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.
AGX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $384M | +62% |
| Q2 2026 | $291M | +50% |
| Q1 2026 | $262.1M | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $251.2M | -2.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $237.7M | +4.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $193.7M | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $232.5M | +41% |
| Q4 2024 | $257M | +57% |
AGX has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +2.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | +3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +4.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 13% | +1.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 13% | +4.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +8.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +6.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | +7 points |
AGX's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 2.1 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 AGX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AGX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $91.7M | +179% |
| Q2 2026 | $111M | +218% |
| Q1 2026 | $171.1M | +296% |
| Q4 2025 | $171.9M | +488% |
| Q3 2025 | $32.9M | -54% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.9M | +101% |
| Q1 2025 | $43.3M | +80% |
| Q4 2024 | $29.2M | -48% |
AGX 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.
AGX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -33K shares |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +33K shares |
| 3 years | +4.6% | +622K shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -1.8M shares |
| Available history | -9.4% | -1.5M shares |
AGX has 14M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $3M |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $199,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $6.8M |
| Q1 2025 | $878,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $459,000 |
AGX spent $12M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 49% from the year before.
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 AGX 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.
AGX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
AGX 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.
AGX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 35.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 10.8 | Oversold |
AGX's weekly RSI is 35 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
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).
AGX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AGX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 25x | 24x | 3.7% above |
| PE % | 46 | 58 | 12 pts below |
AGX is trading at 25x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over AGX on valuation relative to its sector.
AGX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $344.3 | 8.4% below |
| 20 week MA | $454.9 | 31% below |
| 50 week MA | $487.6 | 35% below |
| 100 week MA | $346.8 | 9.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $204.0 | 55% above |
AGX has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 55% above 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 AGX on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AGX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $39.7 | $44.2 | +11% |
| 2021 | $44.2 | $38.2 | -14% |
| 2022 | $38.2 | $36.4 | -4.6% |
| 2023 | $36.4 | $46.8 | +28% |
| 2024 | $46.8 | $143.0 | +206% |
| 2025 | $143.0 | $325.1 | +127% |
| 2026 YTD | $325.1 | $315.3 | -3% |
AGX has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 3% so far in 2026.
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 the edge over AGX on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.