CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over CMCO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
CMCO
Columbus McKinnon Corporation
CMCO offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CMCO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Weak | |
| Weak |
CMCO's revenue is currently strong, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are weak.
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.
CMCO PE Valuation
CMCO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over CMCO on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
CMCO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for CMCO, with profitability holding steady.
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 has the edge over CMCO on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
CMCO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.23 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$10.30 | -8023% |
| Q2 2026 | -$9.38 | -$8.83 |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.40 | -$7.22 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.20 | -38% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.13 | -75% |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.55 | -135% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.18 | -111% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.32 | -81% |
CMCO has swung to a loss: it lost $10.30 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
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 has the edge over CMCO on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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 CMCO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CMCO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $539.3M | +107% |
| Q2 2026 | $531.5M | +125% |
| Q1 2026 | $437.8M | +77% |
| Q4 2025 | $258.7M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $261M | +7.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $235.9M | -1.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $246.9M | -7% |
| Q4 2024 | $234.1M | -7.9% |
CMCO's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $539M last quarter, up 107% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.5% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | -3.3% | -5.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | -35% | -37 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.3% | -1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.7% | +0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 2.3% | -6.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2% | -7.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.6% | -3 points |
CMCO's operating margin was 6.5% last quarter, up 1.8 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 has the edge over CMCO on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
CMCO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$15.4M | -202% |
| Q2 2026 | $20M | +$41.3M |
| Q1 2026 | -$174.3M | -692% |
| Q4 2025 | $16.5M | +168% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.1M | +282% |
| Q2 2025 | -$21.4M | -$6M |
| Q1 2025 | $29.5M | -2.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.2M | -73% |
CMCO's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$153M 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 CMCO 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.
CMCO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +107K shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +26K shares |
| 3 years | -0.3% | -101K shares |
| 5 years | +0.5% | +144K shares |
| Available history | +20% | +4.9M shares |
CMCO has 29M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $55,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $5M |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
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 CMCO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CMCO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 62.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.8x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q3 2024 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q2 2024 | 2.9x | Moderate |
CMCO's net debt is more than 20 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.9 years a year ago.
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).
CMCO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 52.5 | Neutral |
CMCO's weekly RSI is 63 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 52 (neutral).
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.
CMCO PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CMCO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 24x | — |
CMCO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
CMCO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $16.4 | 29% above |
| 20 week MA | $16.8 | 26% above |
| 50 week MA | $16.8 | 26% above |
| 100 week MA | $17.9 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $27.6 | 23% below |
CMCO has the edge over CAT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
CMCO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $39.9 | $39.6 | -0.7% |
| 2021 | $39.6 | $45.3 | +15% |
| 2022 | $45.3 | $31.8 | -30% |
| 2023 | $31.8 | $39.0 | +23% |
| 2024 | $39.0 | $37.4 | -4% |
| 2025 | $37.4 | $17.8 | -52% |
| 2026 YTD | $17.8 | $21.2 | +19% |
CMCO has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.