CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over NPK overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
NPK
National Presto Industries, Inc.
NPK trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NPK Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
NPK'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'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.
NPK PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $85.32 | -39% |
| Fair | 19x | $112 | -20% |
| Current | 23x | $140 | — |
| Expensive | 24x | $146 | +4.2% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NPK 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.
NPK Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for NPK to show an outlook.
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.
NPK Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $5.98 | +2.4% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.49 | -25% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.63 | -20% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.45 | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.84 | +27% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.97 | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.82 | +20% |
| Q3 2024 | $4.75 | +43% |
NPK 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 NPK on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NPK Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $146.6M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $118.6M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $164M | +22% |
| Q3 2025 | $115.5M | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $120.4M | +42% |
| Q1 2025 | $103.6M | +35% |
| Q4 2024 | $134.7M | +37% |
| Q3 2024 | $91.8M | +10% |
NPK has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +8.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.8% | -2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | -6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5.5% | -4.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 5.1% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8.8% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | +3.8 points |
| Q3 2024 | 10% | +1.5 points |
NPK's operating margin was 13% last quarter, up 8.2 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
NPK Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $9.3M | +$22.7M |
| Q1 2026 | $29.4M | +$39.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $12.4M | +$23.7M |
| Q3 2025 | -$24.7M | -$4.4M |
| Q2 2025 | -$13.4M | +$21.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$10.5M | -304% |
| Q4 2024 | -$11.3M | -169% |
| Q3 2024 | -$20.3M | -$15.2M |
NPK's free cash flow has turned positive after three years mostly in the red: $26M 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 the edge over NPK 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.
NPK Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +39K shares |
| 1 year | +0.9% | +66K shares |
| 3 years | +1.5% | +108K shares |
NPK has 7M diluted shares, up 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 NPK on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NPK Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
NPK 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).
NPK Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 49.6 | Neutral |
NPK's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 50 (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.
NPK PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NPK | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 23x | 24x | 2.5% below |
| PE % | 76 | 58 | 18 pts above |
NPK 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.
NPK Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $147.0 | 4.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $141.1 | 0.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $133.0 | 5.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $115.5 | 22% above |
| 200 week MA | $95.9 | 46% above |
NPK has the edge over CAT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
NPK Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $89.0 | $87.8 | -1.3% |
| 2021 | $87.8 | $82.2 | -6.4% |
| 2022 | $82.2 | $69.1 | -16% |
| 2023 | $69.1 | $80.3 | +16% |
| 2024 | $80.3 | $97.2 | +21% |
| 2025 | $97.2 | $108.5 | +12% |
| 2026 YTD | $108.5 | $140.3 | +29% |
NPK has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.