CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over KNOP overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
KNOP
KNOT Offshore Partners LP
KNOP trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
KNOP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
KNOP's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet 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 KNOP in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
KNOP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 6.6x | $2.86 | -69% |
| Fair | 9.6x | $4.14 | -55% |
| Forward | 16x | $9.23 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $7.76 | -16% |
| Current | 22x | $9.23 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KNOP's PE is in its expensive range at 22x. On analysts' estimates for next year's earnings, today's price would be 16x.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over KNOP on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and revenue expectations.
KNOP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Decline | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect KNOP's earnings and profitability to decline, with its revenue 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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
KNOP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.58 | +35% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.43 | -57% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.53 | +43% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.67 | +81% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.54 | +$2.00 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.99 | +4850% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.37 | +$1.11 |
| Q4 2024 | $0.37 | +$1.37 |
| Q3 2024 | -$0.46 | +$0.21 |
KNOP 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 KNOP on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KNOP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $96.8M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $92M | +9.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $96.5M | +5.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $96.9M | +27% |
| Q2 2025 | $87.1M | +17% |
| Q1 2025 | $84M | +9.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $91.3M | +25% |
| Q3 2024 | $76.3M | +5% |
KNOP's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $97M last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 16% | -9.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 16% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 30% | -8.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +9.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 25% | +24 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 38% | +13 points |
| Q3 2024 | 23% | -5.8 points |
KNOP's operating margin was 16% last quarter, down 9.4 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.
KNOP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $32.9M | -3.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $33M | -7.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $43.4M | +5.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $44.3M | +28% |
| Q2 2025 | $34M | +0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.8M | +34% |
| Q4 2024 | $41.2M | +28% |
| Q3 2024 | $34.5M | +37% |
KNOP has the edge over CAT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 KNOP 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.
KNOP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -1.1% | -385K shares |
| 3 years | -1.1% | -385K shares |
| 5 years | +3.4% | +1.1M shares |
| Available history | +3.7% | +1.2M shares |
KNOP has 34M diluted shares, down 1.1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4M |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
KNOP spent $1M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none 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 KNOP on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
KNOP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 4.1x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.4x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 4.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.4x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 5.2x | High |
KNOP's net debt is about 3.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.1 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).
KNOP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 40.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.3 | Oversold |
KNOP's weekly RSI is 40 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (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.
KNOP PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KNOP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 10% below |
| PE % | 93 | 58 | 35 pts above |
KNOP 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.
KNOP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $9.89 | 6.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $10.4 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $10.5 | 12% below |
| 100 week MA | $8.76 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $7.34 | 26% above |
KNOP has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 26% above 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 KNOP on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
KNOP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $19.7 | $14.9 | -24% |
| 2021 | $14.9 | $13.1 | -12% |
| 2022 | $13.1 | $9.46 | -28% |
| 2023 | $9.46 | $5.76 | -39% |
| 2024 | $5.76 | $5.37 | -6.8% |
| 2025 | $5.37 | $10.6 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $10.6 | $9.23 | -13% |
KNOP has finished lower in five of the last six years. It's down 13% so far in 2026.