CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over LSTR overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
LSTR
Landstar System, Inc.
LSTR has slightly 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.
LSTR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
LSTR's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, 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'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.
LSTR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $73.63 | -50% |
| Forward | 20x | $148 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $122 | -18% |
| Current | 31x | $148 | — |
| Expensive | 32x | $152 | +2.6% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LSTR's PE is in its expensive range at 31x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 20x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
CAT has the edge over LSTR on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
LSTR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for LSTR, with profitability holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.73 | +17% |
| 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 LSTR on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LSTR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.23 | +53% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.72 | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.86 | -19% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.62 | -28% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.31 | -40% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.91 | -33% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.76 | -22% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.04 | -23% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.51 | -25% |
LSTR's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $4.72 over the past year, against $12.14 in late 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 has the edge over LSTR 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 LSTR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LSTR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.2B | +1.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.2B | -2.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | -0.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | -1.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -1.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2B | +0.4% |
LSTR's revenue is recovering but still below its 2022 peak: $1.5B last quarter, up 25% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.3% | +2.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4.6% | 0 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.5% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.5% | -2.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 4.7% | -0.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.4% | -1.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.8% | -1.4 points |
LSTR's operating margin was 4.3% last quarter, up 2.2 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 LSTR on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LSTR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $68M | -21% |
| Q2 2026 | -$53.3M | -1245% |
| Q1 2026 | $72.4M | +35% |
| Q4 2025 | $70.5M | +30% |
| Q3 2025 | $86M | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.7M | -89% |
| Q1 2025 | $53.8M | -37% |
| Q4 2024 | $54.4M | -32% |
LSTR still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2022 peak: $158M 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.
LSTR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -64K shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -710K shares |
| 3 years | -5.8% | -2.1M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -4.3M shares |
| Available history | -15% | -5.9M shares |
LSTR has 34M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $102M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $41M |
| Q2 2026 | $1.8M |
| Q1 2026 | $22.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $36.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $40.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $41.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $60.4M |
| Q4 2024 | $2.7M |
LSTR spent $102M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 30% 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.
LSTR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
LSTR 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).
LSTR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 37.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.1 | Oversold |
LSTR's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over LSTR on valuation relative to its sector.
LSTR PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LSTR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 31x | 24x | 31% above |
| PE % | 82 | 58 | 24 pts above |
LSTR is trading at 31x earnings, a 31% 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 the edge over LSTR on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LSTR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $159.7 | 7.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $177.1 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $171.9 | 14% below |
| 100 week MA | $157.1 | 5.8% below |
| 200 week MA | $170.3 | 13% below |
LSTR is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 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 LSTR on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LSTR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $113.2 | $135.4 | +20% |
| 2021 | $135.4 | $172.2 | +27% |
| 2022 | $172.2 | $166.5 | -3.4% |
| 2023 | $166.5 | $193.7 | +16% |
| 2024 | $193.7 | $174.3 | -10% |
| 2025 | $174.3 | $146.0 | -16% |
| 2026 YTD | $146.0 | $148.0 | +1.4% |
LSTR has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 1.4% so far in 2026.