CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over CR overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
CR
Crane Company
CR 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.
CR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
CR's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
CR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 27x | $209 | — |
| Cheap | 29x | $167 | -20% |
| Fair | 31x | $180 | -14% |
| Expensive | 34x | $198 | -5.7% |
| Current | 36x | $209 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CR 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 | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CR, with profitability improving.
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.
CR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.81 | +34% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.83 | -6.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.73 | -4.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.57 | -3.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.26 | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.24 | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.01 | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.77 | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.06 | +14% |
CR 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 has the edge over CR 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 CR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $754.6M | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $724.7M | +26% |
| Q1 2026 | $696.4M | +25% |
| Q4 2025 | $581M | +6.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $589.2M | -1.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $577.2M | -0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $557.6M | -1.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $544.1M | +2.1% |
CR's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $755M last quarter, up 28% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 19% | -1.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | +2.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 14% | -3.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +1.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +3.3 points |
CR's operating margin was 19% last quarter, down 1.5 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
CR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $116.3M | -0.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $107.7M | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | -$40.2M | +$20.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $196M | +7.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $116.8M | +61% |
| Q2 2025 | $88.9M | +63% |
| Q1 2025 | -$60.4M | +$28.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $182.9M | +25% |
CR has the edge over CAT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 CR 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.
CR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +100K shares |
| 1 year | +0.3% | +200K shares |
| 3 years | +2.3% | +1.3M shares |
| 5 years | -1.2% | -700K shares |
| Available history | -1.2% | -700K shares |
CR has 59M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | $27.9M |
| Q1 2022 | $175.8M |
| Q4 2021 | $96.3M |
| Q3 2021 | — |
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 CR on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
CR's net debt is about 1.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
CR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 54.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.0 | Neutral |
CR's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (neutral).
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 CR on valuation relative to its sector.
CR PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 36x | 24x | 50% above |
| PE % | 91 | 59 | 32 pts above |
CR is trading at 36x earnings, a 50% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
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 |
CR has stronger trend alignment. CAT is above 2 of 5 weekly averages versus CR above 4 of 4.
CR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $202.1 | 3.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $208.4 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $197.0 | 6.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $184.9 | 13% above |
CR is in an uptrend: it's above all four of its weekly moving averages, and 13% above its 100-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.
CR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $105.7 | $118.1 | +12% |
| 2024 | $118.1 | $153.9 | +30% |
| 2025 | $153.9 | $187.8 | +22% |
| 2026 YTD | $187.8 | $209.5 | +12% |
CR has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.