CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over FLS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
FLS
Flowserve Corporation
FLS's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
FLS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Stable |
FLS's profitability and balance sheet are currently stable, but its revenue and cash flow are 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 FLS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
FLS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $83.66 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $42.69 | -49% |
| Fair | 26x | $53.03 | -37% |
| Expensive | 39x | $78.13 | -6.6% |
| Current | 42x | $83.66 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
FLS's PE is in its expensive range at 42x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
FLS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for FLS, with profitability improving.
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.
FLS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.51 | +124% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.01 | -42% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.87 | +30% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.72 | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.64 | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.44 | +69% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.21 | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.14 | +20% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.14 | +51% |
FLS 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 FLS 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 FLS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
FLS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | -1.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | -6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +3.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | +2.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.1B | +5.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2B | +1.3% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.1B | +3.5% |
FLS's revenue is down over the past year, though its latest quarter was up: $1.2B last quarter, up 5.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | +5.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | -0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.8% | -2.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 12% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | +1.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 9.1% | +2.7 points |
FLS's operating margin was 12% last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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 FLS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
FLS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $126.9M | -67% |
| Q2 2026 | $112.3M | -18% |
| Q1 2026 | -$60M | +$1.7M |
| Q4 2025 | -$25.6M | -115% |
| Q3 2025 | $384.7M | +149% |
| Q2 2025 | $137.5M | +$165M |
| Q1 2025 | -$61.7M | -227% |
| Q4 2024 | $168.5M | -3.6% |
FLS still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2025 peak: $154M 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 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.
FLS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -396K shares |
| 1 year | -2.5% | -3.3M shares |
| 3 years | -3.1% | -4.1M shares |
| 5 years | -2.2% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -2.9% | -3.8M shares |
FLS has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50M |
| Q2 2026 | $25M |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $56.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $145.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $31.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $21.1M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
FLS spent $132M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 33% 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 FLS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
FLS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5x | Healthy |
FLS's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.1 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).
FLS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 60.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 80.9 | Overbought |
FLS's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 81 (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 FLS on valuation relative to its sector.
FLS PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | FLS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 42x | 24x | 73% above |
| PE % | 88 | 58 | 30 pts above |
FLS is trading at 42x earnings, a 73% 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.
FLS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $75.3 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $75.4 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $76.1 | 10% above |
| 100 week MA | $65.2 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $53.9 | 55% above |
FLS 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.
FLS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $49.7 | $36.7 | -26% |
| 2021 | $36.7 | $30.2 | -18% |
| 2022 | $30.2 | $30.1 | -0.5% |
| 2023 | $30.1 | $41.2 | +37% |
| 2024 | $41.2 | $57.8 | +40% |
| 2025 | $57.8 | $71.0 | +23% |
| 2026 YTD | $71.0 | $83.7 | +18% |
FLS has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.