CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over CNM overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
CNM
Core & Main, Inc.
CNM 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.
CNM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
CNM's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are stable.
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.
CNM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $44.62 | — |
| Cheap | 16x | $39.56 | -11% |
| Current | 18x | $44.62 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $54.21 | +21% |
| Expensive | 27x | $65.05 | +46% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CNM has the edge over CAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over CNM on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
CNM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect CNM's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue 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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
CNM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.29 | +36% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.43 | +8% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.36 | +9.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.31 | +8.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.28 | +7% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.25 | +7.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.16 | +0.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.13 | -0.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.13 | +0.5% |
CNM has the edge over CAT on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 CNM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CNM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1B | +2.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | -0.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | -6.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.1B | +1.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | +6.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +9.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $2B | +12% |
CNM's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $2.1B last quarter, up 2.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.3% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.5% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | -0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 10% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.9% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7.3% | -0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | -0.9 points |
CNM's operating margin was 11% last quarter, about level with 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 CNM on cash flow, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
CNM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $44M | +83% |
| Q2 2026 | $68M | +6.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $253M | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $263M | +4.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $24M | -38% |
| Q2 2025 | $64M | -9.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $224M | -22% |
| Q4 2024 | $252M | -29% |
CNM still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2023 peak: $628M 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 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.
CNM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -2.3M shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -4.9M shares |
| 3 years | -16% | -35.6M shares |
| 5 years | +39% | +54.4M shares |
| Available history | +21% | +33.3M shares |
CNM has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $169M |
| Q2 2026 | $88M |
| Q1 2026 | $58M |
| Q4 2025 | $50M |
| Q3 2025 | $8M |
| Q2 2025 | $39M |
| Q1 2025 | $55M |
| Q4 2024 | $100M |
CNM spent $365M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 81% from the year before.
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 CNM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CNM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.7x | Moderate |
CNM's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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).
CNM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 58.7 | Neutral |
CNM's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 59 (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.
CNM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CNM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 24x | 24% below |
| PE % | 23 | 63 | 40 pts below |
CNM has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
CNM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $42.9 | 4% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.7 | 2% above |
| 50 week MA | $48.6 | 8.2% below |
| 100 week MA | $51.5 | 13% below |
| 200 week MA | $45.2 | 1.4% below |
CNM has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 1.4% below its 200-week average.
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 CNM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CNM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $23.7 | $29.5 | +25% |
| 2022 | $29.5 | $19.2 | -35% |
| 2023 | $19.2 | $40.4 | +111% |
| 2024 | $40.4 | $51.0 | +26% |
| 2025 | $51.0 | $54.0 | +5.8% |
| 2026 YTD | $54.0 | $44.6 | -17% |
CNM has finished higher in four of the last five years. It's down 17% so far in 2026.