ASML
ASML Holding N.V.
ASML 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.
ASML Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Unavailable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ASML's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong. There isn't enough data to rate its revenue.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ASML PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 35x | $1,375 | -8.2% |
| Current | 39x | $1,497 | — |
| Fair | 43x | $1,684 | +13% |
| Expensive | 56x | $2,177 | +45% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ASML 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.
ASML Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for ASML, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
ASML Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.88 | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $30.61 | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $26.91 | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.68 | +40% |
| Q1 2025 | $24.60 | +22% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.42 | -2.9% |
| Q3 2024 | $19.46 | -8.4% |
| Q2 2024 | $19.11 | -7.5% |
ASML has the stronger earnings trend. Trailing diluted EPS is up 58% for ASML versus CAT up 31%.
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.
ASML Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $13B | +55% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.7B | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.8B | +4.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.3B | +0.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.3B | +0.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.5B | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.6B | +46% |
ASML has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 44% | +12 points |
| Q2 2026 | 37% | +4.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 36% | +1.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 35% | -0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | -3.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 35% | +5.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 35% | +9.1 points |
ASML has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ASML Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.6B | +4571% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +292% |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.9B | -$2.4B |
| Q4 2025 | $12.2B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $270.7M | -54% |
| Q3 2025 | $270.7M | -54% |
| Q2 2025 | $397.4M | -10% |
| Q1 2025 | -$527.8M | +$223M |
ASML generated $23.5B in free cash flow over the past year, more than ten times what it generated the year before.
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.
ASML Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -1.4M shares |
| 1 year | -1.1% | -4.1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -10.3M shares |
| 5 years | -5.3% | -21.5M shares |
| Available history | -8.6% | -36.2M shares |
ASML has 384M diluted shares, down 1.1% from a year ago, with $8.7B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.5B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9B |
| Q3 2025 | $191.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $191.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $2.9B |
ASML spent $8.7B buying back its own shares over the past year.
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 ASML 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.
ASML Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
ASML has more cash than debt.
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 ASML on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ASML Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
ASML's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (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).
ASML PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | ASML | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 28x | 38% above |
| PE % | 30 | 35 | 5 pts below |
ASML is trading at 39x earnings, a 38% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x, though its earnings don't support one.
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 ASML on valuation relative to its sector.
ASML Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1,636.6 | 8.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $1,696.6 | 12% below |
| 50 week MA | $1,531.1 | 2.2% below |
| 100 week MA | $1,160.1 | 29% above |
| 200 week MA | $964.4 | 55% above |
ASML has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 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 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.
ASML Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $296.7 | $483.1 | +63% |
| 2021 | $483.1 | $801.4 | +66% |
| 2022 | $801.4 | $551.4 | -31% |
| 2023 | $551.4 | $756.9 | +37% |
| 2024 | $756.9 | $713.6 | -5.7% |
| 2025 | $713.6 | $1,072.8 | +50% |
| 2026 YTD | $1,072.8 | $1,497.1 | +40% |
ASML 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.