CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over LZ overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
LZ
LegalZoom.com, Inc.
LZ 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.
LZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
LZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is weak.
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.
LZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 6.9x | $4.89 | — |
| Current | 41x | $4.89 | — |
| Cheap | 60x | $7.19 | +47% |
| Fair | 70x | $8.40 | +72% |
| Expensive | 129x | $15.53 | +218% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LZ 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 |
CAT has the edge over LZ on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
LZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect LZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, 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.
LZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.71 | +494% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.12 | 0% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.09 | -44% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.06 | -65% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.08 | -50% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.12 | 0% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.16 | +60% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.17 | +70% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.16 | +129% |
LZ has the edge over CAT on earnings, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
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 LZ on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $195.1M | +2.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $205.3M | +6.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $206.8M | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $190.3M | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $190.2M | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $192.5M | +8.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $183.1M | +5.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $161.7M | +1.9% |
LZ's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $195M last quarter, up 2.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.9% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5.2% | +6.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.3% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.6% | -1.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.4% | -6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.6% | -2.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.9% | +2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.1% | +3.8 points |
LZ's operating margin was 6.9% last quarter, up 3.5 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.
LZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.1M | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $33.7M | +6.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $41M | -0.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $28M | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $47M | +114% |
| Q2 2025 | $31.6M | +82% |
| Q1 2025 | $41.3M | +67% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.9M | +154% |
LZ 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.
LZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.6% | -2.7M shares |
| 1 year | -9.5% | -17.8M shares |
| 3 years | -14% | -28.5M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -27.4M shares |
| Available history | +35% | +43.5M shares |
LZ has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $14.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $45.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $43.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $42.9M |
| Q3 2025 | $17.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $20.4M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $3.1M |
LZ spent $146M buying back its own shares over the past year, about four times what it spent 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.
LZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2021 | 13.0x | High |
| Q1 2021 | 6.2x | High |
| Q4 2020 | 5.9x | High |
LZ's net debt is about 13 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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).
LZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 20.9 | Neutral |
LZ's weekly RSI is 39 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (neutral).
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 LZ on valuation relative to its sector.
LZ PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | LZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 41x | 24x | 69% above |
| PE % | 0 | 62 | 62 pts below |
LZ is trading at 41x earnings, a 69% 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 LZ on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $5.89 | 17% below |
| 20 week MA | $6.28 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $6.87 | 29% below |
| 100 week MA | $8.03 | 39% below |
| 200 week MA | $8.93 | 45% below |
LZ is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 45% 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 LZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
LZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $38.9 | $16.1 | -59% |
| 2022 | $16.1 | $7.72 | -52% |
| 2023 | $7.72 | $11.3 | +46% |
| 2024 | $11.3 | $7.82 | -31% |
| 2025 | $7.82 | $10.1 | +29% |
| 2026 YTD | $10.1 | $4.89 | -51% |
LZ has finished lower in three of the last five years. It's down 51% so far in 2026.