AXTI
AXT, Inc.
AXTI offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over AXTI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
AXTI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AXTI's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
AXTI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $5.95 | -86% |
| Forward | 18x | $43.54 | — |
| Fair | 23x | $9.92 | -77% |
| Expensive | 96x | $42.09 | -3.3% |
| Current | 99x | $43.54 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AXTI's PE is in its expensive range at 99x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x 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 AXTI in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AXTI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for AXTI, 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.
AXTI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.40 | +445% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.44 | +$0.95 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.01 | +$0.55 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.32 | +$0.10 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.49 | -$0.22 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.51 | -$0.26 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.54 | -$0.22 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.42 | -$0.02 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.27 | +$0.16 |
AXTI 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.
AXTI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73.4M | +163% |
| Q2 2026 | $47.6M | +165% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.9M | +39% |
| Q4 2025 | $23M | -8.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $28M | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $18M | -36% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.4M | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $25.1M | +23% |
AXTI has the edge over CAT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 39% | +43 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +59 points |
| Q1 2026 | -5.9% | +47 points |
| Q4 2025 | -17% | +7.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | -4% | +10 points |
| Q2 2025 | -38% | -31 points |
| Q1 2025 | -53% | -38 points |
| Q4 2024 | -25% | -7.1 points |
AXTI 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.
AXTI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $87.7M | +$99M |
| Q2 2026 | $3.6M | +$8.4M |
| Q1 2026 | -$13.1M | -$9.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3M | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | -$11.3M | -$5M |
| Q2 2025 | -$4.9M | -949% |
| Q1 2025 | -$3.9M | +$9.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1M | -48% |
AXTI's free cash flow has turned positive after six years mostly in the red: $79M over the past year.
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.
AXTI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.8% | +2.4M shares |
| 1 year | +51% | +22.2M shares |
| 3 years | +55% | +23.3M shares |
| 5 years | +54% | +23.1M shares |
| Available history | +67% | +26.4M shares |
AXTI has 66M diluted shares, up 51% from a year ago.
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 AXTI 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.
AXTI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -9.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -24.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | 93.9x | High |
| Q1 2023 | 5.5x | High |
| Q4 2022 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2022 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q2 2022 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2022 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
AXTI has the edge over CAT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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.
AXTI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.1 | Oversold |
AXTI's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (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).
AXTI PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AXTI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 99x | 28x | 255% above |
| PE % | 83 | 35 | 48 pts above |
AXTI is trading at 99x earnings, a 255% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over AXTI on valuation relative to its sector.
AXTI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $59.3 | 27% below |
| 20 week MA | $61.9 | 30% below |
| 50 week MA | $58.0 | 25% below |
| 100 week MA | $30.5 | 43% above |
| 200 week MA | $16.8 | 159% above |
AXTI has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 159% 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.
AXTI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $4.04 | $9.64 | +139% |
| 2021 | $9.64 | $8.80 | -8.7% |
| 2022 | $8.80 | $4.40 | -50% |
| 2023 | $4.40 | $2.40 | -45% |
| 2024 | $2.40 | $2.28 | -5% |
| 2025 | $2.28 | $15.4 | +574% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.4 | $43.5 | +183% |
AXTI 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.