CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over GE overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
GE
GE Aerospace
GE 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.
GE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
GE'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 has the edge over GE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
GE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $125 | -62% |
| Fair | 34x | $299 | -9.7% |
| Forward | 37x | $331 | — |
| Current | 38x | $331 | — |
| Expensive | 41x | $359 | +8.4% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
GE's PE is in its fair range at 38x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 37x.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over GE on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
GE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for GE, 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.
GE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.89 | +2.5% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.67 | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.49 | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.12 | +26% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.14 | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.49 | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.17 | +70% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.43 | +111% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.99 | -28% |
GE 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 GE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
GE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $14.1B | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $13.3B | +21% |
| Q1 2026 | $12.4B | +25% |
| Q4 2025 | $12.7B | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.2B | +24% |
| Q2 2025 | $11B | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.9B | -38% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.8B | -44% |
GE has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 17% | -1.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | -0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | -1.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | -0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +9.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | +2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +15 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | +13 points |
GE's operating margin was 17% last quarter, down 1.5 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
GE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | -17% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.9B | +49% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9B | +80% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.2B | +77% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +130% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.3B | +128% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | -61% |
GE 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 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.
GE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.6% | -6M shares |
| 1 year | -2.3% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -5.3% | -58M shares |
| 5 years | -5.8% | -64M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -49.5M shares |
GE has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2B |
| Q2 2026 | $2.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.4B |
| Q4 2025 | $2B |
| Q3 2025 | $1.8B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B |
| Q1 2025 | $2B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B |
GE spent $8.5B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 18% 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 GE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
GE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Very low |
GE's net debt is about a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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).
GE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 38.6 | Neutral |
GE's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 39 (neutral).
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 GE on valuation relative to its sector.
GE PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | GE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 38x | 24x | 59% above |
| PE % | 65 | 58 | 7 pts above |
GE is trading at 38x earnings, a 59% 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.
GE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $312.5 | 5.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $335.2 | 1.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $321.1 | 3.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $280.3 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $200.2 | 65% above |
GE 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.
GE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $55.7 | $53.0 | -4.7% |
| 2021 | $53.0 | $58.5 | +10% |
| 2022 | $58.5 | $50.9 | -13% |
| 2023 | $50.9 | $101.8 | +100% |
| 2024 | $101.8 | $170.1 | +67% |
| 2025 | $170.1 | $315.1 | +85% |
| 2026 YTD | $315.1 | $330.9 | +5% |
GE has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.