ATMU
Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc.
ATMU offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ATMU overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ATMU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
ATMU's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
ATMU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $38.96 | -30% |
| Forward | 17x | $55.82 | — |
| Fair | 18x | $47.60 | -15% |
| Expensive | 21x | $55.50 | -0.6% |
| Current | 21x | $55.82 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ATMU 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.
ATMU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ATMU, with profitability improving.
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.
ATMU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.27 | +21% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.69 | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.61 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.55 | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.50 | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.41 | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.27 | +9.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.22 | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.22 | +8.3% |
ATMU 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.
ATMU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $510M | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $527.9M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $477.5M | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $446.6M | +9.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $447.7M | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $453.5M | +4.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $416.5M | -2.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $406.7M | +1.8% |
ATMU's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $510M last quarter, up 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 18% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 16% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +2.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +2.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | -0.6 points |
ATMU's operating margin was 18% last quarter, down 0.5 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 ATMU on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ATMU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $87.2M | +27% |
| Q2 2026 | $64.8M | +100% |
| Q1 2026 | $25.5M | +56% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.2M | +212% |
| Q3 2025 | $68.9M | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $32.4M | +187% |
| Q1 2025 | $16.3M | +$35.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $10M | -61% |
ATMU 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.
ATMU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -100K shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -800K shares |
| 3 years | -1.8% | -1.5M shares |
ATMU has 82M diluted shares, down 1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $13M |
| Q1 2026 | $7.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $900,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $29.7M |
| Q2 2025 | $20.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $10M |
| Q4 2024 | $10M |
ATMU spent $41M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 41% 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 ATMU 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.
ATMU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.4x | Healthy |
ATMU's net debt is about 1.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.1 years 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 the edge over ATMU on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ATMU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 63.6 | Neutral |
ATMU's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 64 (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).
ATMU PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ATMU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 24x | 14% below |
| PE % | 85 | 58 | 27 pts above |
ATMU has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
ATMU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $46.8 | 19% above |
| 20 week MA | $48.4 | 15% above |
| 50 week MA | $52.9 | 5.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $46.6 | 20% above |
ATMU has stronger trend alignment. ATMU is above 4 of 4 weekly averages versus CAT above 2 of 5.
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.
ATMU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $21.7 | $23.5 | +8.5% |
| 2024 | $23.5 | $38.7 | +65% |
| 2025 | $38.7 | $53.4 | +38% |
| 2026 YTD | $53.4 | $55.8 | +4.5% |
ATMU 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.