CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over FCN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
FCN
FTI Consulting, Inc.
FCN 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.
FCN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
FCN's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are 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'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.
FCN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $199 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $165 | -17% |
| Fair | 23x | $183 | -8.1% |
| Current | 25x | $199 | — |
| Expensive | 27x | $217 | +9.4% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FCN 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 | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
FCN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FCN, 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.
FCN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.47 | +31% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.01 | +1.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.26 | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.40 | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.24 | +5.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.86 | -9.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.11 | -23% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.32 | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.81 | +1.3% |
FCN 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 has the edge over FCN on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| 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 FCN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FCN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B | +5.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $993.5M | +5.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $983.3M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $990.7M | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $956.2M | +3.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $943.7M | -0.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $898.3M | -3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $894.9M | -3.2% |
FCN's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $1B last quarter, up 5.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.9% | -3.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 8.6% | -2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.5% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.4% | +3.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 12% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.8% | -2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.9% | -6.5 points |
FCN's operating margin was 8.9% last quarter, down 3.4 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 has the edge over FCN on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FCN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $182M | -2.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $141M | +269% |
| Q1 2026 | -$320.6M | +$162.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $351.4M | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $187M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $38.3M | -69% |
| Q1 2025 | -$483M | -$203.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $301.6M | -20% |
FCN generated $354M in free cash flow over the past year, about eight times what it generated 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 461M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $8.1B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
FCN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -7.1% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | -15% | -4.8M shares |
| 3 years | -24% | -8.7M shares |
| 5 years | -24% | -8.4M shares |
| Available history | -29% | -11.1M shares |
FCN has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $85.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $393.2M |
| Q1 2026 | $126.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $87.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $234.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $354M |
| Q1 2025 | $182.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $10.2M |
FCN spent $693M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 11% 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 FCN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FCN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
FCN's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year 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).
FCN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.1 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 93.8 | Overbought |
FCN's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 94 (overbought).
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 FCN on valuation relative to its sector.
FCN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FCN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 25x | 24x | 3% above |
| PE % | 68 | 58 | 10 pts above |
FCN is trading at 25x 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.
FCN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $161.2 | 23% above |
| 20 week MA | $156.8 | 27% above |
| 50 week MA | $163.6 | 21% above |
| 100 week MA | $166.3 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $183.6 | 8.2% above |
FCN 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.
FCN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $110.6 | $111.1 | +0.4% |
| 2021 | $111.1 | $150.8 | +36% |
| 2022 | $150.8 | $156.9 | +4% |
| 2023 | $156.9 | $199.2 | +27% |
| 2024 | $199.2 | $192.9 | -3.1% |
| 2025 | $192.9 | $175.5 | -9% |
| 2026 YTD | $175.5 | $198.6 | +13% |
FCN has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.