CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over ETN overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
ETN
Eaton Corporation plc
ETN 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.
ETN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure |
ETN's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet 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 ETN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ETN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 22x | $359 | — |
| Cheap | 26x | $261 | -27% |
| Fair | 33x | $327 | -8.8% |
| Current | 36x | $359 | — |
| Expensive | 39x | $388 | +8% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ETN's PE is in its expensive range at 36x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 22x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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.
ETN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ETN, 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.
ETN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $15.99 | +60% |
| Q3 2026 | $10.00 | 0% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.82 | -1.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.22 | +3.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.45 | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $10.00 | +6.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.94 | +9.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.91 | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.50 | +18% |
ETN 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 ETN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ETN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.9B | +28% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.5B | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.5B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.1B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $7B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $7B | +11% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.4B | +7.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.2B | +4.6% |
ETN's revenue has grown year over year for 17 quarters in a row: $8.9B last quarter, up 28% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | -2.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | -3.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | -0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | -0.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | +1.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +0.5 points |
ETN's operating margin was 15% last quarter, down 2.9 points from 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.
ETN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | -12% |
| Q2 2026 | $874M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $314M | +245% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +4.2% |
| Q2 2025 | $716M | -5.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $91M | -69% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B | +27% |
ETN 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 ETN 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.
ETN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +100K shares |
| 1 year | -0.1% | -500K shares |
| 3 years | -3% | -12M shares |
| 5 years | -3.1% | -12.3M shares |
| Available history | -7.4% | -31.2M shares |
ETN has 390M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $193M |
| Q3 2025 | $362M |
| Q2 2025 | $692M |
| Q1 2025 | $615M |
| Q4 2024 | $877M |
ETN spent $193M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 92% 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 ETN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ETN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
ETN's net debt is about 3.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.8 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).
ETN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 14.6 | Oversold |
ETN's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 15 (oversold).
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 ETN on valuation relative to its sector.
ETN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ETN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 36x | 24x | 49% above |
| PE % | 66 | 58 | 8 pts above |
ETN is trading at 36x earnings, a 49% 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 the edge over ETN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
ETN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $391.7 | 8.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $407.1 | 12% below |
| 50 week MA | $385.7 | 6.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $360.6 | 0.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $307.9 | 17% above |
ETN has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 17% 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.
ETN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $95.0 | $118.1 | +24% |
| 2021 | $118.1 | $168.0 | +42% |
| 2022 | $168.0 | $156.8 | -6.7% |
| 2023 | $156.8 | $240.8 | +54% |
| 2024 | $240.8 | $334.6 | +39% |
| 2025 | $334.6 | $322.2 | -3.7% |
| 2026 YTD | $322.2 | $359.0 | +11% |
ETN has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.