CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over LTM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
LTM
LATAM Airlines Group S.A.
LTM 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.
LTM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
LTM's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet 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.
LTM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 9.1x | $47.52 | +0.2% |
| Current | 9.1x | $47.41 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $58.88 | +24% |
| Expensive | 14x | $71.08 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LTM 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 |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
LTM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LTM, with profitability improving. 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.
LTM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $5.20 | +30% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.60 | +52% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.80 | +46% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.20 | +84% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.00 | +95% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.68 | +80% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.28 | +99% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.28 | -77% |
LTM 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 LTM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LTM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.1B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.1B | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.9B | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.8B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.3B | +7.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.3B | +2.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.3B | +3.9% |
| Q3 2024 | $3.2B | +7.3% |
LTM's revenue has grown year over year for 21 quarters in a row: $4.1B last quarter, up 27% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 5.5% | -7.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +3.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +3.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +4.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 13% | +3.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 17% | +4.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 14% | +4.7 points |
| Q3 2024 | 13% | +2.7 points |
LTM's operating margin was 5.5% last quarter, down 7.4 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.
LTM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $218.9M | +81% |
| Q1 2026 | $588.1M | +108% |
| Q4 2025 | $571.3M | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $546.8M | +43% |
| Q2 2025 | $120.8M | -78% |
| Q1 2025 | $283M | -20% |
| Q4 2024 | $445.6M | +36% |
| Q3 2024 | $383.1M | -1.2% |
LTM 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 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.
LTM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -1.4K shares |
| 1 year | -4% | -11.9M shares |
| 3 years | -5% | -15.1M shares |
LTM has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $2.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $429.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $152.4M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
LTM spent $432M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 183% 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 the edge over LTM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LTM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q3 2024 | 1.9x | Healthy |
LTM's net debt is about 1.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.5 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).
LTM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.2 | Neutral |
LTM's weekly RSI is 46 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (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.
LTM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LTM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 9.1x | 24x | 62% below |
| PE % | 12 | 38 | 26 pts below |
LTM 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 stronger trend alignment. CAT is above 2 of 5 weekly averages versus LTM above 1 of 4.
LTM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $47.7 | 0.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $50.8 | 6.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $52.7 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $45.2 | 4.9% above |
LTM has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 4.9% above its 100-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 LTM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LTM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $25.3 | $27.5 | +8.8% |
| 2025 | $27.5 | $54.0 | +97% |
| 2026 YTD | $54.0 | $47.4 | -12% |
LTM has finished every year since 2024 higher, and it's down 12% so far in 2026.