CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over HNI overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
HNI
HNI Corporation
HNI'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.
HNI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure |
HNI's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and cash flow are stable, but its balance sheet is 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 HNI in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HNI PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 11x | $48.20 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $4.07 | -92% |
| Fair | 20x | $5.92 | -88% |
| Expensive | 32x | $9.54 | -80% |
| Current | 161x | $48.20 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HNI's PE is in its expensive range at 161x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 11x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over HNI on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
HNI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HNI, with profitability holding steady.
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.
HNI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.41 | +1369% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.30 | -90% |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.05 | -102% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.27 | -90% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.11 | -61% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.97 | +12% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.07 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.80 | +97% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.88 | +164% |
HNI's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.30 over the past year, against $3.07 in mid-2025.
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 HNI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HNI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +133% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.5B | +121% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.3B | +125% |
| Q4 2025 | $888.4M | +38% |
| Q3 2025 | $683.8M | +1.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $667.1M | +7% |
| Q1 2025 | $599.8M | +2% |
| Q4 2024 | $642.5M | -5.5% |
HNI has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.6% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 6.3% | -4 points |
| Q1 2026 | -2.7% | -6.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | -3.5% | -12 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.4% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 10% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.1% | -1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.5% | +4 points |
HNI's operating margin was 8.6% last quarter, down 0.9 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.
HNI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $195.3M | +44% |
| Q2 2026 | $139.8M | +768% |
| Q1 2026 | -$207.5M | -$203.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $60.4M | +46% |
| Q3 2025 | $135.6M | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.1M | -52% |
| Q1 2025 | -$3.7M | +$11.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $41.5M | -53% |
HNI 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 HNI 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.
HNI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +400K shares |
| 1 year | +54% | +25.4M shares |
| 3 years | +67% | +29.2M shares |
| 5 years | +63% | +28M shares |
| Available history | +67% | +29M shares |
HNI has 73M diluted shares, up 54% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.6M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.8M |
| Q2 2025 | $39.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $40.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $41M |
HNI spent $6M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 96% 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 HNI on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
HNI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 4.4x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 6.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.7x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
HNI's net debt is about 3.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 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).
HNI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 59.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 57.2 | Neutral |
HNI's weekly RSI is 60 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 57 (neutral).
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 HNI on valuation relative to its sector.
HNI PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | HNI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 161x | 24x | 568% above |
| PE % | 100 | 58 | 42 pts above |
HNI is trading at 161x earnings, a 568% 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.
HNI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $47.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.5 | 3.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $42.4 | 14% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 9% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.9 | 15% above |
HNI 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.
HNI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $37.4 | $35.8 | -4.1% |
| 2021 | $35.8 | $41.1 | +15% |
| 2022 | $41.1 | $28.2 | -32% |
| 2023 | $28.2 | $41.8 | +49% |
| 2024 | $41.8 | $50.9 | +22% |
| 2025 | $50.9 | $42.3 | -17% |
| 2026 YTD | $42.3 | $48.2 | +14% |
HNI has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.