CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over CTAS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
CTAS
Cintas Corporation
CTAS 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.
CTAS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CTAS'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.
CTAS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 35x | $179 | -21% |
| Fair | 39x | $198 | -13% |
| Forward | 40x | $228 | — |
| Current | 45x | $228 | — |
| Expensive | 47x | $239 | +4.9% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CTAS 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.
CTAS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CTAS, 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.
CTAS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.71 | +13% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.07 | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.91 | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.73 | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.62 | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.50 | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.40 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.32 | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.15 | +20% |
CTAS 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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CTAS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.9B | +8.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8B | +8.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +8.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.7B | +8% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.6B | +8.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.6B | +7.8% |
CTAS's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $3B last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 23% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 23% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 23% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 22% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 23% | +1.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | +2.1 points |
CTAS has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
CTAS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $464.8M | +49% |
| Q2 2026 | $613.1M | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $530.6M | +1.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $425M | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $312.5M | -16% |
| Q2 2025 | $521.1M | -12% |
| Q1 2025 | $522.1M | -5.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $340M | +14% |
CTAS 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 CTAS 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.
CTAS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -1.9M shares |
| 1 year | -1.2% | -5M shares |
| 3 years | -2.4% | -10M shares |
| 5 years | -4.6% | -19.5M shares |
| Available history | -5.8% | -25.1M shares |
CTAS has 404M diluted shares, down 1.2% from a year ago, with $1B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $315.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $18.9M |
| Q1 2026 | $31.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $635.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $266.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $256.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $26.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $36.7M |
CTAS spent $1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 71% 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 CTAS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CTAS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Very low |
CTAS'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).
CTAS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 80.2 | Overbought |
CTAS's weekly RSI is 69 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 80 (overbought).
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 CTAS on valuation relative to its sector.
CTAS PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CTAS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 45x | 24x | 86% above |
| PE % | 77 | 58 | 19 pts above |
CTAS is trading at 45x earnings, a 86% 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 |
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.
CTAS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $212.9 | 6.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $204.5 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $191.7 | 19% above |
| 100 week MA | $198.1 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $175.2 | 30% above |
CTAS 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.
CTAS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $67.3 | $84.6 | +26% |
| 2021 | $84.6 | $108.8 | +29% |
| 2022 | $108.8 | $114.3 | +5.1% |
| 2023 | $114.3 | $150.7 | +32% |
| 2024 | $150.7 | $183.4 | +22% |
| 2025 | $183.4 | $191.1 | +4.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $191.1 | $227.5 | +19% |
CTAS has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.