CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over KFY overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
KFY
Korn Ferry
KFY 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.
KFY Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
KFY'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.
KFY PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $56.02 | -26% |
| Forward | 13x | $75.75 | — |
| Fair | 14x | $75.58 | -0.2% |
| Current | 14x | $75.75 | — |
| Expensive | 29x | $152 | +101% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KFY 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 |
CAT has the edge over KFY on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
KFY Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KFY, but weaker profitability.
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.
KFY Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.01 | +14% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.28 | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.22 | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.04 | +8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.91 | +4.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.69 | +34% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.60 | +42% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.66 | +61% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.69 | +138% |
KFY 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 KFY on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KFY Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $764.6M | +6.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $768.3M | +6.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $725M | +7.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $729.8M | +7% |
| Q3 2025 | $715.5M | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $719.8M | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $676.5M | 0% |
| Q4 2024 | $682M | -4.3% |
KFY's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $765M last quarter, up 6.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 12% | +0.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | -1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 12% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 15% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +4.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +9.6 points |
KFY's operating margin was 12% last quarter, up 0.6 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 has the edge over KFY on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KFY Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$265.6M | -$5.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $271.9M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $211.7M | +7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $100.7M | -6.5% |
| Q3 2025 | -$260M | -$22.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $235.5M | -5.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $196.4M | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $107.7M | -7.7% |
KFY usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$266M, but it generated $319M 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 KFY 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.
KFY Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.2% | -1.2M shares |
| 1 year | -1.9% | -1M shares |
| 3 years | +0.5% | +265K shares |
| 5 years | -3.7% | -2M shares |
| Available history | -6.2% | -3.4M shares |
KFY has 51M diluted shares, down 1.9% from a year ago, with $106M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $746,000 |
| Q2 2026 | $78.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $19.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $8.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $10.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $14.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $17.8M |
| Q4 2024 | $32.7M |
KFY spent $106M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 40% 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.
KFY Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
KFY 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).
KFY Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 32.9 | Neutral |
KFY's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 33 (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.
KFY PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KFY | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 24x | 40% below |
| PE % | 50 | 58 | 8 pts below |
KFY 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.
KFY Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $74.3 | 2% above |
| 20 week MA | $77.8 | 2.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $71.0 | 6.7% above |
| 100 week MA | $69.7 | 8.6% above |
| 200 week MA | $64.4 | 18% above |
KFY 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.
KFY Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $42.0 | $44.9 | +6.8% |
| 2021 | $44.9 | $75.5 | +68% |
| 2022 | $75.5 | $51.0 | -33% |
| 2023 | $51.0 | $59.4 | +16% |
| 2024 | $59.4 | $67.4 | +14% |
| 2025 | $67.4 | $67.1 | -0.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $67.1 | $75.8 | +13% |
KFY has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.