CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over KNX overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
KNX
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc.
KNX has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
KNX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
KNX's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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 KNX in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
KNX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 13x | $11.71 | -81% |
| Forward | 16x | $61.75 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $20.68 | -67% |
| Current | 66x | $61.75 | — |
| Expensive | 121x | $112 | +82% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KNX's PE is in its expensive range at 66x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 16x next year's earnings, in its cheap 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.
KNX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for KNX, 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.
KNX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.76 | +304% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.93 | +5.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.26 | -75% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.21 | -78% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.41 | -44% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.88 | +267% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.02 | +143% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.94 | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.73 | -46% |
KNX's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.93 over the past year, against $5.36 in mid-2022.
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 KNX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
KNX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.2B | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.1B | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9B | +1.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9B | -0.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.9B | +2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +0.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.8B | +0.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.9B | -3.5% |
KNX's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $2.2B last quarter, up 14% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 8.1% | +5.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5% | +1.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.5% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.6% | -1.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.9% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6% | +2.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.2% | +3.2 points |
KNX's operating margin was 8.1% last quarter, up 5.5 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.
KNX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $349.5M | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $307.8M | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $142.5M | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $723.2M | +164% |
| Q3 2025 | $217.5M | +1.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $216.5M | -21% |
| Q1 2025 | $109.4M | +194% |
| Q4 2024 | $274.3M | -4.8% |
KNX 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 KNX 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.
KNX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +17K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +653K shares |
| 3 years | +0.9% | +1.4M shares |
| 5 years | -2.3% | -3.8M shares |
| Available history | -5.1% | -8.8M shares |
KNX has 163M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | $155.1M |
| Q1 2022 | $144.9M |
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 KNX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
KNX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.6x | Healthy |
KNX has more cash than debt.
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).
KNX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.0 | Oversold |
KNX's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 11 (oversold).
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 KNX on valuation relative to its sector.
KNX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | KNX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 66x | 24x | 176% above |
| PE % | 77 | 58 | 19 pts above |
KNX is trading at 66x earnings, a 176% 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.
KNX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $62.7 | 1.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $68.0 | 9.2% below |
| 50 week MA | $64.3 | 3.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $55.0 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $54.5 | 13% above |
KNX has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 13% 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
KNX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $35.8 | $42.2 | +18% |
| 2021 | $42.2 | $59.0 | +40% |
| 2022 | $59.0 | $52.4 | -11% |
| 2023 | $52.4 | $57.7 | +10% |
| 2024 | $57.7 | $53.6 | -7% |
| 2025 | $53.6 | $53.3 | -0.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $53.3 | $61.8 | +16% |
KNX has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.