CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
HXL
Hexcel Corporation
HXL has the edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
HXL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
HXL's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet are 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 HXL in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HXL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 29x | $79.91 | — |
| Cheap | 32x | $71.17 | -11% |
| Current | 36x | $79.91 | — |
| Fair | 47x | $105 | +31% |
| Expensive | 66x | $146 | +83% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HXL's PE is in its cheap range at 36x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 29x next year's earnings.
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.
HXL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HXL, with profitability improving.
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.
HXL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.72 | +23% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.22 | +161% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.98 | +83% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.51 | 0% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.37 | -14% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.85 | -35% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.08 | -15% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.51 | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.59 | +28% |
HXL 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 HXL 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 HXL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
HXL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $496.4M | +8.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $529.3M | +8% |
| Q1 2026 | $501.5M | +9.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $491.3M | +3.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $456.2M | -0.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $489.9M | -2.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $456.5M | -3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $473.8M | +3.6% |
HXL's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $496M last quarter, up 8.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 11% | +3.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +7.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 11% | +1.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 13% | +11 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.9% | -3.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6.1% | -8.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9.7% | -1.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.9% | -8.5 points |
HXL's operating margin was 11% last quarter, up 3.1 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 has the edge over HXL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HXL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50.7M | -47% |
| Q2 2026 | $58M | +625% |
| Q1 2026 | -$6.2M | +$48.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $107.3M | -25% |
| Q3 2025 | $96.5M | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $8M | -62% |
| Q1 2025 | -$54.6M | -$18.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $144M | -0.8% |
HXL generated $210M in free cash flow over the past year, up 8.2% from the year before.
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.
HXL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +200K shares |
| 1 year | -4.5% | -3.6M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -8.9M shares |
| 5 years | -9.4% | -8M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -9.1M shares |
HXL has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $353.4M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $50.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $50.4M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
HXL spent $353M 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 HXL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
HXL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 1.9x | Healthy |
HXL's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.8 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).
HXL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 39.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 8.0 | Oversold |
HXL's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
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 HXL on valuation relative to its sector.
HXL PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | HXL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 36x | 24x | 50% above |
| PE % | 24 | 58 | 34 pts below |
HXL is trading at 36x earnings, a 50% 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.
HXL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $83.1 | 3.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $92.5 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $88.3 | 9.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $74.5 | 7.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $71.2 | 12% above |
HXL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 12% above its 200-week average.
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.
HXL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $73.8 | $48.8 | -34% |
| 2021 | $48.8 | $51.4 | +5.3% |
| 2022 | $51.4 | $58.0 | +13% |
| 2023 | $58.0 | $73.8 | +27% |
| 2024 | $73.8 | $63.1 | -14% |
| 2025 | $63.1 | $76.1 | +21% |
| 2026 YTD | $76.1 | $79.9 | +5% |
HXL has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.