CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over ESAB overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ESAB
ESAB Corporation
ESAB'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.
ESAB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Weak |
ESAB's revenue is currently healthy, and its profitability and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
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 ESAB in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ESAB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 14x | $82.55 | — |
| Cheap | 18x | $43.61 | -47% |
| Fair | 26x | $63.73 | -23% |
| Expensive | 29x | $71.57 | -13% |
| Current | 34x | $82.55 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ESAB's PE is in its expensive range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over ESAB on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
ESAB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ESAB, 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 has the edge over ESAB on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
ESAB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.91 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.44 | -38% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.76 | -34% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.35 | -24% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.67 | -15% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.96 | -7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.17 | +1.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.43 | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.31 | +28% |
ESAB's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.44 over the past year, against $4.43 in early 2025.
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 ESAB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ESAB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $824.5M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $807.6M | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $745.6M | +9.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $721M | +7.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $727.8M | +8.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $715.6M | +1.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $678.1M | -1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $670.8M | -2.7% |
ESAB's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $825M last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | -3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 9.8% | -5.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -4.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -4.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -1.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | +1.6 points |
ESAB's operating margin was 11% last quarter, down 3.5 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2021.
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 ESAB on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
ESAB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.4M | -23% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.7M | -58% |
| Q1 2026 | $33.2M | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $77.4M | -24% |
| Q3 2025 | $70.3M | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.4M | -49% |
| Q1 2025 | $28.1M | -24% |
| Q4 2024 | $102.2M | -0.9% |
ESAB's free cash flow has been positive every quarter since early 2021: $181M over the past year, down 24% from 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 ESAB 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.
ESAB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +763K shares |
| 1 year | +1.9% | +1.2M shares |
| 3 years | +2.7% | +1.7M shares |
| 5 years | +4% | +2.4M shares |
ESAB has 62M diluted shares, up 1.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
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 ESAB on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ESAB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.6x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 4.7x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
ESAB's net debt is about 4.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.2 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).
ESAB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
ESAB's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (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 ESAB on valuation relative to its sector.
ESAB PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ESAB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 24x | 41% above |
| PE % | 97 | 68 | 29 pts above |
ESAB is trading at 34x earnings, a 41% 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.
ESAB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $72.0 | 15% above |
| 20 week MA | $78.2 | 5.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $96.0 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $107.8 | 23% below |
| 200 week MA | $96.5 | 14% below |
ESAB has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 14% below 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 the edge over ESAB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
ESAB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $50.0 | $49.1 | -1.8% |
| 2023 | $49.1 | $86.6 | +76% |
| 2024 | $86.6 | $121.4 | +40% |
| 2025 | $121.4 | $114.2 | -5.9% |
| 2026 YTD | $114.2 | $82.6 | -28% |
ESAB has finished lower in two of the last four years. It's down 28% so far in 2026.