CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over HPE overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
HPE
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
HPE offers stronger fundamentals, 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.
HPE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
HPE's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is 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 has the edge over HPE in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HPE PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.4x | $12.41 | -75% |
| Forward | 11x | $50.16 | — |
| Fair | 16x | $30.89 | -38% |
| Expensive | 26x | $49.82 | -0.7% |
| Current | 26x | $50.16 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HPE's PE is in its expensive range at 26x. 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 |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
HPE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HPE, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
HPE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.68 | +141% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.94 | +128% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.09 | +6.9% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.17 | -108% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.04 | -102% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.85 | -39% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.02 | -26% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.08 | +43% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.93 | +25% |
HPE's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $1.94 over the past year, against $2.82 in mid-2022.
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 HPE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HPE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.2B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.7B | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.3B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.7B | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.1B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.6B | +5.9% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.9B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.5B | +15% |
HPE has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +8.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 7% | +22 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1% | -8.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.7% | -4.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | -15% | -20 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.5% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.2% | +1.3 points |
HPE's operating margin was 11% last quarter, up 8.7 points from 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
HPE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $896M | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $827M | +$1.8B |
| Q1 2026 | $609M | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.8B | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $729M | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1B | -289% |
| Q1 2025 | -$918M | -$326M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | -34% |
HPE 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 HPE 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.
HPE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.2% | +17M shares |
| 1 year | +2% | +28M shares |
| 3 years | +10% | +133M shares |
| 5 years | +8.3% | +111M shares |
| Available history | +6.1% | +83M shares |
HPE has 1.4B diluted shares, up 2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $135M |
| Q2 2026 | $154M |
| Q1 2026 | $158M |
| Q4 2025 | $100M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $50M |
| Q1 2025 | $52M |
| Q4 2024 | $50M |
HPE spent $547M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent 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 HPE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
HPE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 7.2x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 6.9x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.7x | Very low |
HPE's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 6.9 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).
HPE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.0 | Neutral |
HPE's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 22 (neutral).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
HPE PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | HPE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 28x | 7.2% below |
| PE % | 83 | 35 | 48 pts above |
HPE 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.
HPE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $58.5 | 14% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.6 | 8.1% below |
| 50 week MA | $38.8 | 29% above |
| 100 week MA | $29.6 | 70% above |
| 200 week MA | $23.5 | 114% above |
HPE 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.
HPE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $15.9 | $11.8 | -26% |
| 2021 | $11.8 | $15.8 | +34% |
| 2022 | $15.8 | $15.8 | -0.1% |
| 2023 | $15.8 | $17.0 | +7.8% |
| 2024 | $17.0 | $21.7 | +28% |
| 2025 | $21.7 | $24.5 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $24.5 | $50.2 | +105% |
HPE has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.