ARCB
ArcBest Corporation
ARCB's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ARCB overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
ARCB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
ARCB's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ARCB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $10.60 | -92% |
| Forward | 14x | $135 | — |
| Fair | 15x | $18.93 | -86% |
| Expensive | 28x | $35.29 | -74% |
| Current | 105x | $135 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ARCB's PE is in its expensive range at 105x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
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 ARCB in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ARCB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ARCB, with profitability improving.
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.
ARCB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.38 | +633% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.28 | -69% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.70 | -90% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.44 | -68% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.62 | -64% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.18 | -49% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.69 | +26% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.53 | +51% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.30 | -7.9% |
ARCB's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.28 over the past year, against $12.64 in late 2022.
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 ARCB on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ARCB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $998.8M | +3.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $972.7M | -2.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $1B | -1.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | -5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $967.1M | -6.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | -8.1% |
ARCB's revenue is growing: $1.2B last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.1% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | -1.7% | -5.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8% | -4.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5.2% | -7.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.6% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7% | -1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 3.8% | -2.1 points |
ARCB's operating margin was 6.1% last quarter, up 0.8 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 ARCB 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 ARCB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ARCB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $103.3M | +211% |
| Q2 2026 | $117.1M | +45% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.2M | +$35.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $36.9M | +944% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.2M | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $80.9M | -3.5% |
| Q1 2025 | -$36.8M | +$11.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $3.5M | -91% |
ARCB 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.
ARCB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +79.5K shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -383K shares |
| 3 years | -8.6% | -2.1M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -4.3M shares |
| Available history | -12% | -3.1M shares |
ARCB has 22M diluted shares, down 1.7% from a year ago, with $52M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $749,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $7.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $17.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $16.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $19.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $22M |
| Q4 2024 | $19.1M |
ARCB spent $52M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 32% 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 ARCB 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.
ARCB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.2x | Very low |
ARCB's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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 ARCB on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ARCB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 24.0 | Neutral |
ARCB's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 24 (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).
ARCB PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ARCB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 105x | 24x | 338% above |
| PE % | 96 | 58 | 38 pts above |
ARCB is trading at 105x earnings, a 338% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over ARCB on valuation relative to its sector.
ARCB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $129.0 | 4.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $137.0 | 1.8% below |
| 50 week MA | $119.2 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $97.1 | 39% above |
| 200 week MA | $102.9 | 31% above |
ARCB 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.
ARCB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $27.4 | $43.3 | +58% |
| 2021 | $43.3 | $111.6 | +158% |
| 2022 | $111.6 | $71.5 | -36% |
| 2023 | $71.5 | $120.2 | +68% |
| 2024 | $120.2 | $93.6 | -22% |
| 2025 | $93.6 | $77.3 | -17% |
| 2026 YTD | $77.3 | $134.6 | +74% |
ARCB 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.