CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over IIIN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
IIIN
Insteel Industries, Inc.
IIIN 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.
IIIN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
IIIN's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability 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 IIIN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
IIIN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.8x | $11.84 | -58% |
| Forward | 14x | $28.17 | — |
| Fair | 18x | $27.22 | -3.4% |
| Current | 19x | $28.17 | — |
| Expensive | 31x | $46.95 | +67% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IIIN's PE is in its fair range at 19x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 14x.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over IIIN on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
IIIN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect IIIN's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken.
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.
IIIN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.95 | +29% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.51 | -28% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.86 | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.18 | +88% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.43 | +145% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.10 | +112% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.60 | +54% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.16 | -6.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.99 | -14% |
IIIN 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'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 IIIN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
IIIN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $209.3M | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $197.7M | +9.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $172.7M | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $159.9M | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $177.4M | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $179.9M | +23% |
| Q1 2025 | $160.7M | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $129.7M | +6.6% |
IIIN has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.9% | -6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.9% | -5.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9% | -4.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6% | +4.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 11% | +6.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 11% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.3% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1% | -0.2 points |
IIIN's operating margin was 4.9% last quarter, down 6 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.
IIIN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $15.9M | +$34.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $10.5M | -61% |
| Q1 2026 | $671K | +$6.2M |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.2M | -113% |
| Q3 2025 | -$18.7M | -229% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.9M | +73% |
| Q1 2025 | -$5.5M | -$5M |
| Q4 2024 | $16.3M | +71% |
IIIN still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2023 peak: $25M over the past year.
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 IIIN 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.
IIIN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +28K shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -36K shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -44K shares |
| 5 years | -0.1% | -12K shares |
| Available history | +0.8% | +152K shares |
IIIN has 20M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $457,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9M |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $745,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $307,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $224,000 |
| Q1 2025 | $1.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $617,000 |
IIIN spent $3M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 39% 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 more cash than debt.
IIIN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
IIIN 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).
IIIN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 14.1 | Oversold |
IIIN's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (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.
IIIN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | IIIN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 24x | 22% below |
| PE % | 51 | 58 | 7 pts below |
IIIN 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 the edge over IIIN on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
IIIN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $28.7 | 1.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $30.0 | 6.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $30.9 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $31.8 | 11% below |
| 200 week MA | $31.8 | 12% below |
IIIN is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 12% 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 IIIN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
IIIN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.8 | $23.1 | +5.9% |
| 2021 | $23.1 | $38.8 | +68% |
| 2022 | $38.8 | $27.0 | -30% |
| 2023 | $27.0 | $38.3 | +42% |
| 2024 | $38.3 | $27.6 | -28% |
| 2025 | $27.6 | $32.5 | +18% |
| 2026 YTD | $32.5 | $28.2 | -13% |
IIIN has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's down 13% so far in 2026.