CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over CRAI overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
CRAI
CRA International, Inc.
CRAI's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CRAI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
CRAI's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is under pressure.
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.
CRAI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $130 | -35% |
| Fair | 20x | $162 | -19% |
| Forward | 22x | $199 | — |
| Current | 25x | $199 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $204 | +2.6% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CRAI 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 CRAI on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
CRAI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CRAI, 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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
CRAI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.25 | +16% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.99 | -4% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.52 | -9% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.21 | -2.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.14 | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.32 | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.26 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.41 | +21% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.74 | +25% |
CRAI 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 CRAI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CRAI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $214.9M | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $210.8M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $201M | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $197M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $185.9M | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $186.9M | +9% |
| Q1 2025 | $181.9M | +5.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $176.4M | +9.2% |
CRAI's revenue has grown year over year for 12 quarters in a row: $215M last quarter, up 16% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +1.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 9% | -5.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | -1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.3% | -1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | +4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +2.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 12% | +1.6 points |
CRAI's operating margin was 11% last quarter, up 1.9 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.
CRAI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73.2M | +104% |
| Q2 2026 | -$6.1M | -230% |
| Q1 2026 | -$116.5M | -$35.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $59M | -14% |
| Q3 2025 | $35.9M | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.7M | +$5.2M |
| Q1 2025 | -$81M | -$17.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $68.8M | +15% |
CRAI still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $10M 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.
CRAI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -80K shares |
| 1 year | -4.4% | -294K shares |
| 3 years | -11% | -756K shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -1.2M shares |
| Available history | -23% | -1.8M shares |
CRAI has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $27.8M |
| Q1 2026 | $21.5M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $4M |
| Q2 2025 | $43.2M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
CRAI spent $49M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 4.6% 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 CRAI on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CRAI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
CRAI's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
CRAI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 74.6 | Neutral |
CRAI's weekly RSI is 64 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
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 CRAI on valuation relative to its sector.
CRAI PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CRAI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 25x | 24x | 3.6% above |
| PE % | 79 | 58 | 21 pts above |
CRAI is trading at 25x earnings, in line with 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 |
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.
CRAI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $185.1 | 7.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $174.8 | 14% above |
| 50 week MA | $171.8 | 16% above |
| 100 week MA | $178.3 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $154.8 | 29% above |
CRAI 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 the edge over CRAI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CRAI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $53.6 | $50.5 | -5.7% |
| 2021 | $50.5 | $92.3 | +83% |
| 2022 | $92.3 | $120.0 | +30% |
| 2023 | $120.0 | $98.9 | -18% |
| 2024 | $98.9 | $186.8 | +89% |
| 2025 | $186.8 | $206.2 | +10% |
| 2026 YTD | $206.2 | $199.3 | -3.4% |
CRAI has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 3.4% so far in 2026.