CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over IEX overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
IEX
IDEX Corporation
IEX 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.
IEX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
IEX's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue 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'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.
IEX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $238 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $194 | -18% |
| Fair | 30x | $219 | -8.1% |
| Current | 33x | $238 | — |
| Expensive | 39x | $279 | +17% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IEX has the edge over CAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
IEX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for IEX, 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.
IEX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.57 | +33% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.20 | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.95 | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.76 | +7.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.41 | -3.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.31 | -2.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.18 | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.30 | -17% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.64 | -15% |
IEX has the edge over CAT on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
IEX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $951.7M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $920.6M | +6.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $886.9M | +8.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $899.1M | +4.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $878.7M | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $865.4M | +7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $814.3M | +1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $862.9M | +9.4% |
IEX's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $952M last quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 22% | +0.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | 0 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | +2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +1.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 22% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 17% | -2.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -1.2 points |
IEX has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
IEX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $214.3M | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $177M | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $86M | -5.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $189.8M | +21% |
| Q3 2025 | $188.7M | -1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $146.9M | +25% |
| Q1 2025 | $91.4M | -33% |
| Q4 2024 | $157.1M | -12% |
IEX has the edge over CAT on cash flow, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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 IEX 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.
IEX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -200K shares |
| 1 year | -1.6% | -1.2M shares |
| 3 years | -2.5% | -1.9M shares |
| 5 years | -3.2% | -2.5M shares |
| Available history | -3.4% | -2.6M shares |
IEX has 74M diluted shares, down 1.6% from a year ago, with $301M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $74.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $77.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $76.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $72.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $75M |
| Q2 2025 | $50M |
| Q1 2025 | $50M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
IEX spent $301M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 72% 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 IEX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
IEX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
IEX's net debt is about 1.2 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 1.5 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).
IEX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 57.2 | Neutral |
IEX's weekly RSI is 61 (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 IEX on valuation relative to its sector.
IEX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | IEX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 33x | 24x | 37% above |
| PE % | 71 | 58 | 13 pts above |
IEX is trading at 33x earnings, a 37% 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.
IEX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $232.6 | 2.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $229.8 | 3.6% above |
| 50 week MA | $212.1 | 12% above |
| 100 week MA | $196.2 | 21% above |
| 200 week MA | $205.5 | 16% above |
IEX 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.
IEX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $172.6 | $196.6 | +14% |
| 2021 | $196.6 | $230.6 | +17% |
| 2022 | $230.6 | $229.3 | -0.6% |
| 2023 | $229.3 | $217.1 | -5.3% |
| 2024 | $217.1 | $211.1 | -2.8% |
| 2025 | $211.1 | $180.3 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $180.3 | $238.0 | +32% |
IEX has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.