AZZ
AZZ Inc.
AZZ offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over AZZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
AZZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
AZZ's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
AZZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 13x | $69.52 | -48% |
| Forward | 18x | $134 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $122 | -9.2% |
| Current | 24x | $134 | — |
| Expensive | 61x | $339 | +153% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AZZ 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.
AZZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AZZ, with profitability improving.
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.
AZZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.42 | +34% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.55 | -48% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.56 | -26% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.50 | +487% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.84 | +618% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.60 | +709% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.83 | +703% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.79 | -48% |
| Q4 2022 | -$1.06 | -134% |
AZZ 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.
AZZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $486.9M | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $448.5M | +6.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $385.1M | +9.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $425.7M | +5.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $417.3M | +2% |
| Q2 2025 | $422M | +2.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $351.9M | -77% |
| Q4 2024 | $403.7M | +5.8% |
AZZ's revenue is recovering but still below its 2024 peak: $487M last quarter, up 17% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 17% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | +3.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +1.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 16% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -2.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +0.7 points |
AZZ's operating margin was 17% last quarter, up 0.8 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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 AZZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
AZZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $84.4M | +116% |
| Q2 2026 | $18.4M | -94% |
| Q1 2026 | $50.5M | +47% |
| Q4 2025 | $61.2M | +54% |
| Q3 2025 | $39.1M | +154% |
| Q2 2025 | $293.9M | +560% |
| Q1 2025 | $34.4M | -2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $39.7M | +3.4% |
AZZ 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.
AZZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -36K shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -121K shares |
| 3 years | +3.1% | +913K shares |
| 5 years | +20% | +5M shares |
| Available history | +15% | +3.9M shares |
AZZ has 30M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | $1.9M |
| Q4 2021 | $7.6M |
| Q3 2021 | $15M |
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 AZZ 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.
AZZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 1.8x | Healthy |
AZZ's net debt is about 1.2 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.8 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 AZZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
AZZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 23.3 | Neutral |
AZZ's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (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).
AZZ PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | AZZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 0.6% above |
| PE % | 58 | 58 | Same percentile |
AZZ is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
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 AZZ on valuation relative to its sector.
AZZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $133.7 | 0.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $140.0 | 4.1% below |
| 50 week MA | $134.3 | 0.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $115.4 | 16% above |
| 200 week MA | $88.0 | 53% above |
AZZ 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.
AZZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $46.3 | $47.4 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | $47.4 | $54.3 | +14% |
| 2022 | $54.3 | $38.9 | -28% |
| 2023 | $38.9 | $58.1 | +49% |
| 2024 | $58.1 | $82.1 | +41% |
| 2025 | $82.1 | $110.5 | +35% |
| 2026 YTD | $110.5 | $134.2 | +21% |
AZZ 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.