CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over NSP overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
NSP
Insperity, Inc.
NSP's outlook is improving despite an expensive valuation.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NSP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
NSP's cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue and profitability 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 NSP in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NSP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $49.84 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $1.87 | -96% |
| Fair | 25x | $2.25 | -95% |
| Expensive | 37x | $3.31 | -93% |
| Current | 554x | $49.84 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NSP's PE is in its expensive range at 554x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 20x 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 NSP on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
NSP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect NSP'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 has the edge over NSP on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NSP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.51 | +2686% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.09 | -81% |
| Q2 2026 | -$0.42 | -139% |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.66 | -139% |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.19 | -108% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.47 | -85% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.07 | -75% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.69 | -59% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.42 | -46% |
NSP's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.09 over the past year, against $5.29 in early 2023.
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 NSP on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NSP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7B | +1.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | +1.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9B | +1.7% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +3.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +4% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +3.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +3.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.6B | +2.1% |
NSP's revenue has grown year over year for 23 quarters in a row: $1.7B last quarter, up 1.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.1% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.4% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.3% | -0.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | -2.8% | -1.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | -1.5% | -1.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4% | -1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6% | -2.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | -0.9% | -2.3 points |
NSP's operating margin was −0.1% last quarter, up 1.4 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.
NSP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$17M | +$3M |
| Q2 2026 | $41M | +$127M |
| Q1 2026 | -$73M | +$376M |
| Q4 2025 | $246M | -59% |
| Q3 2025 | -$20M | +$144M |
| Q2 2025 | -$86M | -714% |
| Q1 2025 | -$449M | -1827% |
| Q4 2024 | $606M | +1392% |
NSP 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 NSP 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.
NSP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.6% | -1M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | -- |
| 3 years | -0.5% | -196K shares |
| 5 years | -2.3% | -881K shares |
| Available history | -5.4% | -2.2M shares |
NSP has 38M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $4M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $19M |
| Q4 2024 | $11M |
NSP spent $10M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 67% 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.
NSP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -4.9x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -5.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -7.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -4.2x | Net Cash |
NSP 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).
NSP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 55.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 48.4 | Neutral |
NSP's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 48 (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 NSP on valuation relative to its sector.
NSP PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NSP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 554x | 24x | 2,201% above |
| PE % | 100 | 58 | 42 pts above |
NSP is trading at 554x earnings, a 2201% 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 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.
NSP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $49.7 | 0.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $50.0 | 0.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $40.0 | 25% above |
| 100 week MA | $52.0 | 4.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $78.0 | 36% below |
NSP's trend is mixed: it's above two of its five weekly moving averages, and 36% 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
NSP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $86.4 | $84.9 | -1.7% |
| 2021 | $84.9 | $115.0 | +35% |
| 2022 | $115.0 | $114.9 | -0.1% |
| 2023 | $114.9 | $117.2 | +2% |
| 2024 | $117.2 | $76.8 | -34% |
| 2025 | $76.8 | $38.6 | -50% |
| 2026 YTD | $38.6 | $49.8 | +29% |
NSP has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.