CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over FAST overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
FAST
Fastenal Company
FAST'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.
FAST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
FAST's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
FAST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 28x | $34.70 | -38% |
| Fair | 34x | $41.55 | -25% |
| Forward | 40x | $55.55 | — |
| Expensive | 41x | $49.86 | -10% |
| Current | 45x | $55.55 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FAST 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 | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over FAST on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
FAST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FAST, with profitability holding steady.
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.
FAST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.38 | +13% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.23 | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.17 | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.13 | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.09 | +9% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.06 | +6% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.03 | +3% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.00 | -1% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.00 | -1% |
FAST 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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
FAST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.5B | +15% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.4B | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.2B | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $2B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1B | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.1B | +8.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +3.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B | +3.7% |
FAST's revenue has grown year over year for 21 quarters in a row: $2.5B last quarter, up 15% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 22% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 19% | +0.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 21% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -1.2 points |
FAST has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
FAST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $347.6M | +6.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $201.6M | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $319.5M | +55% |
| Q4 2025 | $308.1M | +38% |
| Q3 2025 | $326.6M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $209.3M | +3.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $206.5M | -27% |
| Q4 2024 | $222.6M | -30% |
FAST 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 FAST 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.
FAST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -179K shares |
| 1 year | -0.1% | -934K shares |
| 3 years | +0.3% | +3.9M shares |
| 5 years | -0.4% | -4.4M shares |
| Available history | +0.1% | +1.2M shares |
FAST has 1.2B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $30.5M |
| Q2 2026 | $30M |
| Q1 2026 | $20.3M |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | $93.2M |
| Q3 2022 | $95.3M |
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 FAST on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FAST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
FAST has more cash than debt.
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).
FAST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 73.1 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 82.4 | Overbought |
FAST's weekly RSI is 73 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 82 (overbought).
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 FAST on valuation relative to its sector.
FAST PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FAST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 45x | 24x | 88% above |
| PE % | 97 | 58 | 39 pts above |
FAST is trading at 45x earnings, a 88% 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.
FAST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $51.9 | 7% above |
| 20 week MA | $50.1 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.9 | 19% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.3 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $38.1 | 46% above |
FAST 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
FAST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $18.5 | $24.8 | +34% |
| 2021 | $24.8 | $31.3 | +26% |
| 2022 | $31.3 | $23.9 | -24% |
| 2023 | $23.9 | $32.4 | +36% |
| 2024 | $32.4 | $36.5 | +13% |
| 2025 | $36.5 | $41.6 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $41.6 | $55.6 | +34% |
FAST has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.