ARQ
Arq, Inc.
ARQ offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ARQ overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
ARQ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Weak | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
ARQ's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently 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.
ARQ PE Valuation
ARQ has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year. If it returns to profit as analysts expect, today's price would be 1545x 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'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.
ARQ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect ARQ to return to profit, with revenue growing.
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.
ARQ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.00 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.18 | -$1.08 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.26 | -$1.22 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.29 | -$1.24 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.27 | -$1.13 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.10 | -243% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.04 | $0.00 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.05 | +$0.14 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.14 | +$0.28 |
ARQ lost $1.18 per share over the past year, a bigger loss than the year before.
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 has the edge over ARQ on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
ARQ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.2M | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $29.9M | +4.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $29.1M | +6.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $29.4M | +8.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $35.1M | +0.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $28.6M | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.2M | +25% |
| Q4 2024 | $27M | -3.8% |
ARQ's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $38M last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.2% | +11 points |
| Q2 2026 | -0.2% | +5.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | -3.4% | -5.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | -174% | -176 points |
| Q3 2025 | -2.4% | -8.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | -5.4% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +16 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5% | -9.5 points |
ARQ's operating margin was 8.2% last quarter, up 11 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 ARQ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ARQ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.6M | +209% |
| Q2 2026 | -$4M | -$2.6M |
| Q1 2026 | -$676K | +$8.8M |
| Q4 2025 | -$3.5M | +$34.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $3.1M | +$8.9M |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.4M | +$20.8M |
| Q1 2025 | -$9.5M | -$443K |
| Q4 2024 | -$37.8M | -$31.7M |
ARQ 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.
ARQ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2% | +847K shares |
| 1 year | +3.2% | +1.3M shares |
| 3 years | +35% | +11.1M shares |
| 5 years | +133% | +24.6M shares |
| Available history | +135% | +24.7M shares |
ARQ has 43M diluted shares, up 3.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | — |
| Q3 2020 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | $159,000 |
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 ARQ 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.
ARQ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | -2.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | -8.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -15.0x | Net Cash |
ARQ's net debt is about 2.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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 more cash than debt.
ARQ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 65.2 | Neutral |
ARQ's weekly RSI is 63 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 65 (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).
ARQ PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ARQ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 24x | — |
ARQ 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 | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
ARQ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $2.11 | 46% above |
| 20 week MA | $2.15 | 44% above |
| 50 week MA | $2.62 | 18% above |
| 100 week MA | $4.11 | 25% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.05 | 24% below |
ARQ 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.
ARQ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.1 | $5.96 | -41% |
| 2021 | $5.96 | $6.62 | +11% |
| 2022 | $6.62 | $2.28 | -66% |
| 2023 | $2.28 | $2.98 | +31% |
| 2024 | $2.98 | $7.13 | +139% |
| 2025 | $7.13 | $3.41 | -52% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.41 | $3.09 | -9.4% |
ARQ's yearly returns have swung widely, from +139% in 2024 to −66% in 2022. It's down 9.4% 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 ARQ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.