CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over DCO overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
DCO
Ducommun Incorporated
DCO trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
DCO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
DCO's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, 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 has the edge over DCO in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
DCO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.9x | $23.90 | -83% |
| Fair | 23x | $77.86 | -45% |
| Expensive | 36x | $122 | -14% |
| Current | 41x | $142 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DCO's PE is in its expensive range at 41x.
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.
DCO Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for DCO to show an outlook.
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.
DCO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.44 | +$5.78 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.75 | -167% |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.24 | -196% |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.19 | -204% |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.34 | -218% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.63 | +72% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.33 | +97% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.10 | +84% |
DCO 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 DCO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DCO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $227M | +6.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $224.5M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $209M | +7.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $217.1M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $212.6M | +5.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $202.3M | +2.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $194.1M | +1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $197.3M | +2.6% |
DCO's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $227M last quarter, up 6.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +49 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +4.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7.5% | -1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.8% | +2.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | -38% | -45 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.5% | +1.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.5% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.3% | +0.6 points |
DCO's operating margin was 11% last quarter, up 49 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 DCO on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
DCO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $26.9M | +68% |
| Q2 2026 | $30M | +65% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.3M | +$12.3M |
| Q4 2025 | -$78.8M | -640% |
| Q3 2025 | $16M | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $18.1M | +12499% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4M | +$2.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $14.6M | -37% |
DCO's free cash flow was −$14M over the past year, against $45M the year before.
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 DCO 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.
DCO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +4K shares |
| 1 year | +3.9% | +581K shares |
| 3 years | +5% | +745K shares |
| 5 years | +27% | +3.3M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +3.8M shares |
DCO has 16M diluted shares, up 3.9% from a year ago.
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 DCO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
DCO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 16.4x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 87.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 61.3x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q3 2024 | 2.6x | Moderate |
DCO's net debt is about 1.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.1 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).
DCO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.6 | Oversold |
DCO's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
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 DCO on valuation relative to its sector.
DCO PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | DCO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 41x | 24x | 72% above |
| PE % | 89 | 58 | 31 pts above |
DCO is trading at 41x earnings, a 72% 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.
DCO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $160.5 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $172.0 | 17% below |
| 50 week MA | $145.4 | 2% below |
| 100 week MA | $110.9 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $82.1 | 73% above |
DCO has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 73% 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.
DCO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $50.4 | $53.4 | +6% |
| 2021 | $53.4 | $45.8 | -14% |
| 2022 | $45.8 | $48.6 | +6.2% |
| 2023 | $48.6 | $52.1 | +7.1% |
| 2024 | $52.1 | $60.9 | +17% |
| 2025 | $60.9 | $96.5 | +59% |
| 2026 YTD | $96.5 | $142.4 | +48% |
DCO has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.