APT
Alpha Pro Tech, Ltd.
APT has a slight 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.
APT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
APT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
APT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 4.7x | $6.25 | — |
| Cheap | 8.4x | $4.18 | -33% |
| Current | 13x | $6.25 | — |
| Fair | 15x | $7.26 | +16% |
| Expensive | 17x | $8.65 | +38% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
APT's PE is in its cheap range at 13x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 4.7x next year's earnings.
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 has the edge over APT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
APT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for APT, with profitability holding steady.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over APT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
APT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.32 | +164% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.50 | +47% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.40 | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.34 | -5.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.33 | -5.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.34 | -5.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.33 | -18% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.36 | +2.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.35 | 0% |
APT has the edge over CAT on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
APT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $16.6M | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $18.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.6M | +5.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.9M | +0.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.8M | +3.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.7M | +2.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.8M | +2.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.8M | -9.5% |
APT's revenue is recovering but still below its 2020 peak: $17M last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | +4.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +2.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.9% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.4% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8% | -2.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.9% | -1.5 points |
APT's operating margin was 12% last quarter, up 4.4 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 APT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
APT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $7M | +84% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.1M | +6.2% |
| Q1 2026 | -$105K | +$4M |
| Q4 2025 | $51K | -95% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.8M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $2M | +$3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.1M | -$2.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $970K | -70% |
APT 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.
APT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +24.1K shares |
| 1 year | -1.1% | -113K shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -1.4M shares |
| 5 years | -23% | -3M shares |
| Available history | -21% | -2.8M shares |
APT has 10M diluted shares, down 1.1% from a year ago, with $1M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $384,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $99,000 |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $713,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $624,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $830,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $721,000 |
APT spent $1M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 64% 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 APT 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.
APT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -3.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -3.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -3.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -3.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -4.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -3.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -3.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -4.3x | Net Cash |
APT 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.
APT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 56.0 | Neutral |
APT's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 56 (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).
APT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | APT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 24x | 48% below |
| PE % | 23 | 58 | 35 pts below |
APT has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
APT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $5.53 | 13% above |
| 20 week MA | $5.34 | 17% above |
| 50 week MA | $5.12 | 22% above |
| 100 week MA | $4.99 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $4.95 | 26% above |
APT 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.
APT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $3.51 | $12.3 | +249% |
| 2021 | $12.3 | $5.84 | -52% |
| 2022 | $5.84 | $4.01 | -31% |
| 2023 | $4.01 | $5.29 | +32% |
| 2024 | $5.29 | $5.25 | -0.8% |
| 2025 | $5.25 | $4.50 | -14% |
| 2026 YTD | $4.50 | $6.25 | +39% |
APT 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.