CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over PL overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
PL
Planet Labs PBC
PL 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.
PL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Stable | |
| Unavailable |
PL's revenue is currently strong, and its cash flow is stable, but its profitability is weak. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
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.
PL PE Valuation
PL has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect PL's losses to shrink, with revenue growing. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.73 | +17% |
| 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 PL on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
PL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.12 | -$0.82 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.16 | -$0.80 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.80 | -$0.38 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.42 | -$0.02 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.30 | +$0.16 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.36 | +$0.11 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.42 | +$0.08 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.40 | +$0.14 |
PL lost $1.12 per share over the past year, a bigger loss than 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 PL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $116.1M | +58% |
| Q2 2026 | $94.2M | +42% |
| Q1 2026 | $86.8M | +41% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3M | +33% |
| Q3 2025 | $73.4M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $66.3M | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $61.6M | +4.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $61.3M | +11% |
PL has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -12% | +13 points |
| Q2 2026 | -37% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | -41% | -10 points |
| Q4 2025 | -23% | +14 points |
| Q3 2025 | -24% | +40 points |
| Q2 2025 | -34% | +23 points |
| Q1 2025 | -31% | +26 points |
| Q4 2024 | -37% | +50 points |
PL's operating margin was −12% last quarter, up 13 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2022.
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.
PL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $25.6M | -46% |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.9M | -120% |
| Q1 2026 | -$951K | +$16.9M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9M | +$5.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $47.5M | +$70.5M |
| Q2 2025 | $9.2M | +$23.5M |
| Q1 2025 | -$17.9M | -$2.2M |
| Q4 2024 | -$3.6M | +$26.7M |
PL 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 PL 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.
PL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +4.1% | +14.1M shares |
| 1 year | +18% | +55.5M shares |
| 3 years | +31% | +84.5M shares |
PL has 360M diluted shares, up 18% 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 more cash than debt.
PL Net Leverage
PL's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
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).
PL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 36.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 11.9 | Oversold |
PL's weekly RSI is 37 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 12 (oversold).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
PL PE vs Industrials Sector
PL has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 PL on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $14.9 | 6.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $19.1 | 27% below |
| 50 week MA | $25.2 | 45% below |
| 100 week MA | $16.0 | 13% below |
| 200 week MA | $9.42 | 48% above |
PL has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 48% above 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 PL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $9.92 | $7.11 | -28% |
| 2022 | $7.11 | $4.51 | -37% |
| 2023 | $4.51 | $2.47 | -45% |
| 2024 | $2.47 | $4.38 | +77% |
| 2025 | $4.38 | $19.4 | +342% |
| 2026 YTD | $19.4 | $13.9 | -28% |
PL's yearly returns have swung widely, from +342% in 2025 to −45% in 2023. It's down 28% so far in 2026.