CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
COHR
Coherent, Inc.
COHR has the edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
COHR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
COHR's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is 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.
COHR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $232 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $130 | -44% |
| Fair | 34x | $165 | -29% |
| Current | 48x | $232 | — |
| Expensive | 184x | $886 | +282% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
COHR 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 |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
COHR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for COHR, with profitability improving.
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.
COHR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.69 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.83 | +580% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.12 | +$4.64 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.11 | +$2.34 |
| Q4 2025 | $1.03 | +$1.44 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.71 | +$1.94 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | +$1.32 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.23 | +$2.64 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.41 | +$2.41 |
COHR 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 COHR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
COHR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.4B | +50% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +27% |
COHR has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +18 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | +9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | +1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -4.2% | -9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.9% | +6.1 points |
COHR's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 1.4 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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 COHR on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
COHR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$868.2M | -$810.2M |
| Q2 2026 | -$486.2M | -$485.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$383.5M | -850% |
| Q4 2025 | -$95.7M | -217% |
| Q3 2025 | -$58M | -195% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.1M | -102% |
| Q1 2025 | $51.1M | +111% |
| Q4 2024 | $81.7M | +$106M |
COHR's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$1.8B 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 COHR 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.
COHR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.4% | +6.6M shares |
| 1 year | +5.9% | +11.3M shares |
| 3 years | +34% | +51.7M shares |
| 5 years | +74% | +86.2M shares |
| Available history | +122% | +111M shares |
COHR has 202M diluted shares, up 5.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | $1,000 |
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 COHR on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
COHR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6x | High |
COHR's net debt is about 1.7 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.1 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).
COHR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.5 | Oversold |
COHR's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
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 COHR on valuation relative to its sector.
COHR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | COHR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 48x | 28x | 72% above |
| PE % | 58 | 35 | 23 pts above |
COHR is trading at 48x earnings, a 72% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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.
COHR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $252.9 | 8.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $284.1 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $277.7 | 16% below |
| 100 week MA | $185.9 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $120.6 | 92% above |
COHR has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 92% above 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
COHR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.5 | $77.8 | +132% |
| 2021 | $77.8 | $68.0 | -13% |
| 2022 | $68.0 | $33.1 | -51% |
| 2023 | $33.1 | $43.5 | +32% |
| 2024 | $43.5 | $97.0 | +123% |
| 2025 | $97.0 | $191.7 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $191.7 | $232.1 | +21% |
COHR has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.