CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over IEP overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
IEP
Icahn Enterprises L.P.
IEP 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.
IEP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Weak | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
IEP's revenue and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its profitability and cash flow are 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'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.
IEP PE Valuation
IEP has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over IEP on the outlook, with more favorable revenue and profitability expectations.
IEP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect IEP's earnings to grow, with its revenue and 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 has the edge over IEP on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
IEP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.50 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.46 | -$0.68 |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.66 | +$0.56 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.44 | +$1.20 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.52 | +$0.42 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.78 | +$0.25 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.22 | -$0.13 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.64 | -$0.55 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.94 | +$0.81 |
IEP is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.46 per share over the past year, against $5.49 at its worst in late 2019.
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 IEP 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 IEP on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IEP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.2B | +16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +26% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.2B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7B | +5.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | -2.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.4B | +7.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | -24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.6B | -4.4% |
IEP's revenue is recovering but still below its 2022 peak: $3.2B last quarter, up 16% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -3.6% | -23 points |
| Q2 2026 | -13% | -2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | -28% | +7.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6% | +5.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +17 points |
| Q2 2025 | -10% | +12 points |
| Q1 2025 | -35% | -34 points |
| Q4 2024 | -5.2% | +2.2 points |
IEP's operating margin was −3.6% last quarter, down 23 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 IEP on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
IEP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $116M | +$183M |
| Q2 2026 | $36M | -80% |
| Q1 2026 | $283M | +$553M |
| Q4 2025 | -$496M | -418% |
| Q3 2025 | -$67M | +$45M |
| Q2 2025 | $179M | -78% |
| Q1 2025 | -$270M | +$49M |
| Q4 2024 | $156M | +1100% |
IEP's free cash flow was −$61M over the past year, against −$2M 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 the edge over IEP 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.
IEP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +6.5% | +46M shares |
| 1 year | +26% | +157M shares |
| 3 years | +84% | +346M shares |
| 5 years | +172% | +478M shares |
| Available history | +254% | +543M shares |
IEP has 757M diluted shares, up 26% from a year ago.
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 more cash than debt.
IEP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -7.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -4.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -5.6x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -42.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -4.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -90.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -175.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2022 | -7.2x | Net Cash |
IEP has the edge over CAT on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
IEP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 20.7 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 3.3 | Oversold |
IEP's weekly RSI is 21 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 3 (oversold).
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.
IEP PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | IEP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 24x | — |
IEP has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 the edge over IEP on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IEP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $5.93 | 18% below |
| 20 week MA | $6.72 | 28% below |
| 50 week MA | $7.34 | 34% below |
| 100 week MA | $8.11 | 40% below |
| 200 week MA | $16.0 | 70% below |
IEP is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 70% below 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 the edge over IEP on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
IEP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $62.2 | $51.0 | -18% |
| 2021 | $51.0 | $49.8 | -2.4% |
| 2022 | $49.8 | $50.7 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | $50.7 | $17.2 | -66% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $8.94 | -48% |
| 2025 | $8.94 | $7.60 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $7.60 | $4.86 | -36% |
IEP has finished three years in a row lower, and it's down 36% so far in 2026.