CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over NX overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
NX
Quanex Building Products Corporation
NX's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
NX Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
NX's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue and balance sheet 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'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.
NX PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 9.8x | $19.34 | — |
| Cheap | 11x | $11.12 | -42% |
| Fair | 13x | $13.42 | -31% |
| Current | 18x | $19.34 | — |
| Expensive | 21x | $21.85 | +13% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NX 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 NX on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
NX Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect NX'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 NX on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NX Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.98 | +88% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.05 | +$7.49 |
| Q2 2026 | -$5.57 | -1605% |
| Q1 2026 | -$5.20 | -1433% |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.43 | -703% |
| Q3 2025 | -$6.44 | -386% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.37 | -85% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.39 | -85% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.90 | -64% |
NX has returned to profit: it earned $1.05 per share over the past year, after losing money the year before.
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 NX on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NX Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $501.8M | +1.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $462.4M | +2.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $409.1M | +2.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $489.8M | -0.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $495.3M | +77% |
| Q2 2025 | $452.5M | +70% |
| Q1 2025 | $400M | +67% |
| Q4 2024 | $492.2M | +67% |
NX has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 9.3% | +64 points |
| Q2 2026 | 4% | -5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7% | +2.4 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.8% | +8.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | -55% | -63 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | -1.7% | -5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6% | -13 points |
NX's operating margin was 9.3% last quarter, up 64 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 NX on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NX Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $47.8M | +3.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.9M | -42% |
| Q1 2026 | -$31.5M | -$7.4M |
| Q4 2025 | $66.6M | +$74.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $46.2M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.6M | -47% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24.1M | -$18.4M |
| Q4 2024 | -$8.2M | -128% |
NX generated $91M in free cash flow over the past year, about three times what it generated the year before.
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 NX 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.
NX Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -10K shares |
| 1 year | -0.1% | -43K shares |
| 3 years | +38% | +12.6M shares |
| 5 years | +36% | +12M shares |
| Available history | +38% | +12.7M shares |
NX has 46M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7M |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $3.1M |
| Q3 2025 | $2.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $23.5M |
| Q1 2025 | $3.7M |
| Q4 2024 | — |
NX spent $5M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 84% 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 NX on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
NX Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 5.0x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 6.2x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 5.8x | High |
| Q3 2024 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.1x | Very low |
NX's net debt is about 2.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
NX Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 46.9 | Neutral |
NX's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (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.
NX PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | NX | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 18x | 24x | 23% below |
| PE % | 74 | 58 | 16 pts above |
NX 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.
NX Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $19.6 | 1.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $19.7 | 1.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $18.7 | 3.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $18.6 | 4% above |
| 200 week MA | $23.6 | 18% below |
NX's trend is mixed: it's above two of its five weekly moving averages, and 18% 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.
NX Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $17.3 | $22.6 | +30% |
| 2021 | $22.6 | $24.5 | +8.8% |
| 2022 | $24.5 | $23.8 | -3.2% |
| 2023 | $23.8 | $30.6 | +29% |
| 2024 | $30.6 | $24.5 | -20% |
| 2025 | $24.5 | $15.3 | -37% |
| 2026 YTD | $15.3 | $19.3 | +26% |
NX has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.