CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over LMB overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
LMB
Limbach Holdings, Inc.
LMB 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.
LMB Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
LMB's revenue and cash flow are currently healthy, and its profitability and balance sheet are 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 LMB in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LMB PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $56.65 | — |
| Cheap | 16x | $39.79 | -30% |
| Current | 22x | $56.65 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $66.46 | +17% |
| Expensive | 39x | $101 | +77% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LMB's PE is in its fair range at 22x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 12x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over LMB on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
LMB Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for LMB, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
LMB Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.73 | +85% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.55 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.49 | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.74 | -1.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.23 | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.03 | +39% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.92 | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.78 | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.57 | +46% |
LMB 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 LMB on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LMB Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $230.5M | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $173.5M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $138.9M | +4.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $186.9M | +30% |
| Q3 2025 | $184.6M | +38% |
| Q2 2025 | $142.2M | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $133.1M | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $143.7M | +0.7% |
LMB has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.5% | -0.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.2% | -3.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8% | -5.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.4% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.2% | -0.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.5% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.9% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.1% | +4 points |
LMB's operating margin was 6.5% last quarter, down 0.7 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.
LMB Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $19.5M | +52% |
| Q2 2026 | $18.1M | +1466% |
| Q1 2026 | -$8.2M | -74800% |
| Q4 2025 | $27.9M | +55% |
| Q3 2025 | $12.8M | +180% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2M | -91% |
| Q1 2025 | $11K | +$6.5M |
| Q4 2024 | $18M | +34% |
LMB 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 LMB 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.
LMB Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -39.8K shares |
| 1 year | -0.9% | -107K shares |
| 3 years | +1.8% | +211K shares |
| 5 years | +14% | +1.5M shares |
| Available history | +57% | +4.3M shares |
LMB has 12M diluted shares, down 0.9% from a year ago.
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 LMB on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LMB Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
LMB's net debt is about 2.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than 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).
LMB Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 46.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.5 | Neutral |
LMB's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (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.
LMB PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LMB | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 22x | 24x | 7.7% below |
| PE % | 35 | 58 | 23 pts below |
LMB 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.
LMB Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $50.8 | 11% above |
| 20 week MA | $55.3 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $71.3 | 21% below |
| 100 week MA | $87.0 | 35% below |
| 200 week MA | $65.1 | 13% below |
LMB has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 13% 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 LMB on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LMB Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $3.23 | $13.0 | +302% |
| 2021 | $13.0 | $9.04 | -30% |
| 2022 | $9.04 | $10.3 | +14% |
| 2023 | $10.3 | $45.5 | +343% |
| 2024 | $45.5 | $85.9 | +89% |
| 2025 | $85.9 | $79.3 | -7.7% |
| 2026 YTD | $79.3 | $56.7 | -29% |
LMB has finished higher in four of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's down 29% so far in 2026.