CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over GD overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
GD
General Dynamics Corporation
GD 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.
GD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
GD'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.
GD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $266 | -27% |
| Fair | 19x | $328 | -9.7% |
| Forward | 20x | $363 | — |
| Current | 21x | $363 | — |
| Expensive | 22x | $382 | +5.2% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GD 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 GD on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
GD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for GD, 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.
GD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $18.25 | +7.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $17.01 | +10% |
| Q2 2026 | $16.40 | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.89 | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.45 | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $15.42 | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.89 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $14.41 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.63 | +13% |
GD 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 GD on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
GD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $14.6B | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $14.1B | +8.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.5B | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.4B | +7.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.9B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $13B | +8.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.2B | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.3B | +14% |
GD's revenue has grown year over year for 17 quarters in a row: $14.6B last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | +0.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 10% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | -0.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 10% | +0.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 10% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 10% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 11% | -0.4 points |
GD's operating margin was 10% last quarter, about level with 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.
GD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | -35% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $2B | +$2.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $952M | -47% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.9B | +56% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.4B | +128% |
| Q1 2025 | -$290M | +$147M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B | +102% |
GD 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 GD 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.
GD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -22K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.1M shares |
| 3 years | -0.4% | -967K shares |
| 5 years | -2.4% | -6.6M shares |
| Available history | -5.9% | -17.1M shares |
GD has 274M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $285M |
| Q2 2026 | $102M |
| Q1 2026 | $217M |
| Q4 2025 | $37M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $600M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B |
GD spent $641M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 67% 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 GD on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
GD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3x | Healthy |
GD's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
GD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 54.0 | Neutral |
GD's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 54 (neutral).
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.
GD PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | GD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 24x | 11% below |
| PE % | 72 | 58 | 14 pts above |
GD 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.
GD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $347.7 | 4.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $364.4 | 0.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $354.0 | 2.6% above |
| 100 week MA | $323.6 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $290.3 | 25% above |
GD 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.
GD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $177.5 | $149.0 | -16% |
| 2021 | $149.0 | $204.7 | +37% |
| 2022 | $204.7 | $247.9 | +21% |
| 2023 | $247.9 | $259.7 | +4.7% |
| 2024 | $259.7 | $266.1 | +2.5% |
| 2025 | $266.1 | $342.2 | +29% |
| 2026 YTD | $342.2 | $363.1 | +6.1% |
GD has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.