CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over KFRC overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
KFRC
Kforce Inc.
KFRC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
KFRC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy |
KFRC's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its cash flow is 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 has the edge over KFRC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
KFRC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 13x | $31.64 | -42% |
| Fair | 18x | $42.22 | -23% |
| Forward | 18x | $54.97 | — |
| Expensive | 22x | $52.78 | -4% |
| Current | 23x | $54.97 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KFRC's PE is in its expensive range at 23x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings, in its fair 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.
KFRC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KFRC, 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 has the edge over KFRC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KFRC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.00 | +26% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.38 | +4.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.11 | -12% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.97 | -23% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.96 | -27% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.27 | -22% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.39 | -11% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.55 | -12% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.68 | -14% |
KFRC's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.38 over the past year, against $5.41 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 KFRC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 KFRC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KFRC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $357.8M | +7.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $349.3M | +4.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $330.4M | +0.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $332M | -3.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $332.6M | -5.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $334.3M | -6.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $330M | -6.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $343.8M | -5.4% |
KFRC's revenue is recovering but still below its 2022 peak: $358M last quarter, up 7.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.3% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.4% | +0.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.6% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.6% | -2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 4.5% | -0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.5% | -1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.5% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.5% | -1.5 points |
KFRC's operating margin was 6.3% last quarter, up 1.8 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 KFRC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KFRC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $5.9M | -70% |
| Q2 2026 | -$6.5M | -146% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.4M | -$3.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $16.7M | -27% |
| Q3 2025 | $19.8M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.2M | -20% |
| Q1 2025 | -$3.9M | -135% |
| Q4 2024 | $22.7M | +9.6% |
KFRC still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $9M 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 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.
KFRC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +1.5% | +252K shares |
| 1 year | -2.4% | -415K shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -2.3M shares |
| 5 years | -18% | -3.9M shares |
| Available history | -28% | -6.5M shares |
KFRC has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $70,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $3.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $11.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $9.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $9.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $11.2M |
| Q1 2025 | $21.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $20.7M |
KFRC spent $25M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 60% 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 KFRC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
KFRC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
KFRC's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from a year 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).
KFRC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 57.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 48.5 | Neutral |
KFRC's weekly RSI is 57 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 48 (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.
KFRC PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KFRC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 4% below |
| PE % | 87 | 58 | 29 pts above |
KFRC 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.
KFRC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $54.0 | 1.9% above |
| 20 week MA | $55.0 | 0% above |
| 50 week MA | $43.0 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $42.0 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $52.3 | 5.2% above |
KFRC 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.
KFRC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $39.9 | $42.5 | +6.6% |
| 2021 | $42.5 | $75.6 | +78% |
| 2022 | $75.6 | $54.8 | -27% |
| 2023 | $54.8 | $67.6 | +23% |
| 2024 | $67.6 | $56.7 | -16% |
| 2025 | $56.7 | $31.4 | -45% |
| 2026 YTD | $31.4 | $55.0 | +75% |
KFRC has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.