CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over DCI overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
DCI
Donaldson Company, Inc.
DCI 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.
DCI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
DCI's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is 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.
DCI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 21x | $79.58 | -8.5% |
| Fair | 23x | $88.63 | +1.9% |
| Current | 23x | $86.99 | — |
| Expensive | 28x | $107 | +23% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DCI 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.
DCI Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for DCI to show an outlook.
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.
DCI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.85 | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.72 | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.20 | -6.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.21 | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.05 | -9.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.98 | -7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.42 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.44 | +17% |
DCI 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 DCI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DCI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +8% |
| Q2 2026 | $995.1M | +5.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $896.3M | +3% |
| Q4 2025 | $935.4M | +3.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $980.7M | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $940.1M | +1.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $870M | -0.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $900.1M | +6.4% |
DCI's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $1.1B last quarter, up 8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | +6.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 16% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.3% | -6.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | -0.2 points |
DCI's operating margin was 17% last quarter, up 1.2 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
DCI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $185M | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $112.1M | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | $18M | -75% |
| Q4 2025 | $111.2M | +132% |
| Q3 2025 | $147.5M | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $73M | -39% |
| Q1 2025 | $71.5M | +8.8% |
| Q4 2024 | $47.9M | -58% |
DCI 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 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.
DCI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -2.5M shares |
| 3 years | -4.6% | -5.7M shares |
| 5 years | -8% | -10.3M shares |
| Available history | -8.3% | -10.7M shares |
DCI has 118M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $111M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $19.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $91.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $59.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $190.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $7.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $74.4M |
DCI spent $111M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 66% 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 DCI on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
DCI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.7x | Very low |
DCI's net debt is about 1.5 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year 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).
DCI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.8 | Oversold |
DCI's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
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.
DCI PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | DCI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 6.1% below |
| PE % | 43 | 58 | 15 pts below |
DCI 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.
DCI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $86.3 | 0.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $89.6 | 2.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $90.5 | 3.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $81.8 | 6.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $74.5 | 17% above |
DCI 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 DCI on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
DCI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $58.0 | $56.6 | -2.5% |
| 2021 | $56.6 | $57.6 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $57.6 | $59.7 | +3.6% |
| 2023 | $59.7 | $65.4 | +9.5% |
| 2024 | $65.4 | $68.0 | +4.1% |
| 2025 | $68.0 | $91.3 | +34% |
| 2026 YTD | $91.3 | $87.0 | -4.7% |
DCI has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 4.7% so far in 2026.