CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
FELE
Franklin Electric Co., Inc.
FELE has a slight edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
FELE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
FELE's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and cash flow 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.
FELE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $97.63 | — |
| Current | 22x | $97.63 | — |
| Cheap | 23x | $100 | +2.6% |
| Fair | 25x | $113 | +16% |
| Expensive | 32x | $140 | +44% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FELE 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 FELE on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
FELE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FELE, 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 has the edge over FELE on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FELE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.22 | +17% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.45 | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.47 | -11% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.32 | -13% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.22 | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.08 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.88 | -3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.83 | -4.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.86 | -6.1% |
FELE earned $4.45 per share over the past year, up 44% from the year before.
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 FELE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FELE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $633.6M | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $622.9M | +6% |
| Q1 2026 | $500.4M | +9.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $506.9M | +4.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $581.7M | +9.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $587.4M | +8.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $455.2M | -1.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $485.7M | +2.7% |
FELE's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $634M last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 14% | -1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | 0 points |
| Q1 2026 | 9.6% | -0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | +1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9.7% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.9% | -1.9 points |
FELE's operating margin was 14% last quarter, down 1 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 FELE on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FELE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $66.5M | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $88.7M | +122% |
| Q1 2026 | -$50.4M | -$24.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $88.7M | -9% |
| Q3 2025 | $91.3M | -14% |
| Q2 2025 | $39.9M | +53% |
| Q1 2025 | -$26.3M | -$15.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $97.5M | -7.9% |
FELE still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2023 peak: $193M over the past year.
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 FELE 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.
FELE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -100K shares |
| 1 year | -0.9% | -400K shares |
| 3 years | -4.9% | -2.3M shares |
| 5 years | -5.1% | -2.4M shares |
| Available history | -4.7% | -2.2M shares |
FELE has 45M diluted shares, down 0.9% from a year ago, with $61M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $5.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $36.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $94,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $122.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $4.1M |
FELE spent $61M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 54% 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 FELE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FELE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
FELE's net debt is about 1.1 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).
FELE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
FELE's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
FELE PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FELE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 8.7% below |
| PE % | 9 | 58 | 49 pts below |
FELE has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
FELE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $97.4 | 0.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $100.8 | 3.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $99.7 | 2% below |
| 100 week MA | $96.9 | 0.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $97.0 | 0.7% above |
FELE 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 the edge over FELE on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
FELE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $56.8 | $70.0 | +23% |
| 2021 | $70.0 | $91.4 | +31% |
| 2022 | $91.4 | $80.0 | -13% |
| 2023 | $80.0 | $96.7 | +21% |
| 2024 | $96.7 | $98.0 | +1.3% |
| 2025 | $98.0 | $99.2 | +1.3% |
| 2026 YTD | $99.2 | $97.6 | -1.6% |
FELE has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's down 1.6% so far in 2026.