AVY
Avery Dennison Corporation
AVY offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over AVY overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
AVY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
AVY's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
AVY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 17x | $187 | — |
| Cheap | 19x | $174 | -6.8% |
| Current | 20x | $187 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $198 | +5.7% |
| Expensive | 29x | $272 | +45% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AVY 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.
AVY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect AVY's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over AVY on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
AVY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.75 | +16% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.25 | +5.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.14 | +2.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.88 | +2.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.79 | +0.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.80 | +5.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.92 | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.69 | +27% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.73 | +41% |
AVY has the edge over CAT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
AVY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +5.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.5B | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.3B | +7% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.3B | +3.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.2B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.2B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.1B | -0.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.2B | +3.6% |
AVY's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $2.3B last quarter, up 5.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | -0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | 0 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.2% | -1.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +1.5 points |
AVY's operating margin was 10% last quarter, about level with 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 AVY on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AVY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $251.2M | -9.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $369M | +106% |
| Q1 2026 | $108.2M | +$160.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $309.7M | +9.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $276.2M | +22% |
| Q2 2025 | $178.8M | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | -$52.3M | -174% |
| Q4 2024 | $281.7M | +28% |
AVY 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.
AVY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.7% | -500K shares |
| 1 year | -2.7% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -6.3% | -5.1M shares |
| 5 years | -9.3% | -7.8M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -9.1M shares |
AVY has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $59M |
| Q2 2026 | $137.6M |
| Q1 2026 | $60.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $118.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $93.6M |
| Q2 2025 | $98.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $261.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $140M |
AVY spent $376M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 37% 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 461M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $8.1B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
AVY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.3x | Moderate |
AVY's net debt is about 2.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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 AVY on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
AVY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 63.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.9 | Neutral |
AVY's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (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).
AVY PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AVY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 20x | 24x | 16% below |
| PE % | 38 | 58 | 20 pts below |
AVY 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.
AVY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $177.6 | 5.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $173.5 | 7.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $174.2 | 7.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $175.1 | 6.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $185.9 | 0.5% above |
AVY 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.
AVY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $131.6 | $153.4 | +17% |
| 2021 | $153.4 | $208.5 | +36% |
| 2022 | $208.5 | $181.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $181.1 | $202.2 | +12% |
| 2024 | $202.2 | $188.5 | -6.8% |
| 2025 | $188.5 | $182.5 | -3.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $182.5 | $187.0 | +2.4% |
AVY has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 2.4% 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 AVY on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.