CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over DXPE overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
DXPE
DXP Enterprises, Inc.
DXPE's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
DXPE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
DXPE's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet 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 has the edge over DXPE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
DXPE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $68.84 | -55% |
| Fair | 16x | $94.21 | -39% |
| Forward | 22x | $153 | — |
| Current | 26x | $153 | — |
| Expensive | 27x | $165 | +7.6% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
DXPE's PE is in its expensive range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x next year's earnings.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over DXPE on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
DXPE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for DXPE, 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.
DXPE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.93 | +15% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.00 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.67 | +8.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.34 | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.37 | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.27 | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.23 | +47% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.80 | +33% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.22 | +8.5% |
DXPE 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 DXPE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
DXPE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $587.2M | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $576.5M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $521.7M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $527.4M | +12% |
| Q3 2025 | $513.7M | +8.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $498.7M | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $476.6M | +15% |
| Q4 2024 | $470.9M | +16% |
DXPE's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $587M last quarter, up 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.9% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.6% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.1% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.8% | +0.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.5% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.2% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.5% | +1.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.3% | +1 points |
DXPE's operating margin was 8.9% last quarter, about level with 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.
DXPE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $14.4M | -49% |
| Q2 2026 | $29.8M | +259% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.3M | +$43.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $34.5M | +52% |
| Q3 2025 | $28.1M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.3M | +40% |
| Q1 2025 | -$16.9M | -170% |
| Q4 2024 | $22.7M | -39% |
DXPE 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 DXPE 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.
DXPE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +8K shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -173K shares |
| 3 years | -5.8% | -1M shares |
| 5 years | -16% | -3.2M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -2.1M shares |
DXPE has 16M diluted shares, down 1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $15.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $2M |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $224,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $4.8M |
| Q2 2024 | $9.2M |
| Q1 2024 | $14.8M |
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 DXPE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
DXPE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.8x | Moderate |
DXPE's net debt is about 2.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.6 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).
DXPE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 28.1 | Neutral |
DXPE's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (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 DXPE on valuation relative to its sector.
DXPE PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | DXPE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 24x | 6.1% above |
| PE % | 80 | 58 | 22 pts above |
DXPE is trading at 26x 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.
DXPE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $170.9 | 10% below |
| 20 week MA | $175.4 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $154.2 | 0.6% below |
| 100 week MA | $125.9 | 22% above |
| 200 week MA | $83.5 | 84% above |
DXPE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 84% 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.
DXPE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $40.0 | $22.9 | -43% |
| 2021 | $22.9 | $25.0 | +9.3% |
| 2022 | $25.0 | $27.9 | +12% |
| 2023 | $27.9 | $33.7 | +21% |
| 2024 | $33.7 | $82.3 | +144% |
| 2025 | $82.3 | $115.8 | +41% |
| 2026 YTD | $115.8 | $153.3 | +32% |
DXPE has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.