CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
PLTR
Palantir Technologies Inc.
PLTR has the edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
PLTR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PLTR's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
PLTR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 75x | $172 | — |
| Current | 120x | $172 | — |
| Cheap | 165x | $236 | +37% |
| Fair | 251x | $359 | +109% |
| Expensive | 452x | $646 | +277% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PLTR 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 | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
PLTR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for PLTR, with profitability improving.
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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
PLTR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.30 | +61% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.43 | +240% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.17 | +290% |
| Q1 2026 | $0.89 | +287% |
| Q4 2025 | $0.63 | +232% |
| Q3 2025 | $0.42 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.30 | +76% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.23 | +92% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.19 | +111% |
PLTR 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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
PLTR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.9B | +93% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +85% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +70% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | +63% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +48% |
| Q1 2025 | $883.9M | +39% |
| Q4 2024 | $827.5M | +36% |
PLTR has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 47% | +14 points |
| Q2 2026 | 47% | +20 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +26 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | +40 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +18 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +11 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +7.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 1.3% | -9.5 points |
PLTR has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
PLTR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.2B | +139% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +126% |
| Q1 2026 | $891.8M | +193% |
| Q4 2025 | $764M | +67% |
| Q3 2025 | $500.9M | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $531.6M | +276% |
| Q1 2025 | $304.1M | +140% |
| Q4 2024 | $457.2M | +54% |
PLTR 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 PLTR 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.
PLTR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +5.2M shares |
| 1 year | +0.1% | +2.9M shares |
| 3 years | +11% | +248M shares |
| 5 years | +31% | +610M shares |
| Available history | +184% | +1.7B shares |
PLTR has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $18.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $18M |
| Q4 2024 | $18.6M |
| Q3 2024 | $18.9M |
| Q2 2024 | $17.7M |
| Q1 2024 | $9M |
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.
PLTR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -6.1x | Net Cash |
PLTR 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).
PLTR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 47.4 | Neutral |
PLTR's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 47 (neutral).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over PLTR on valuation relative to its sector.
PLTR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PLTR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 120x | 28x | 331% above |
| PE % | 1 | 38 | 37 pts below |
PLTR is trading at 120x earnings, a 331% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
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.
PLTR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $185.8 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $167.6 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $157.1 | 9.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $143.8 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $83.3 | 106% above |
PLTR 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 the edge over PLTR on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLTR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.20 | $27.8 | +202% |
| 2021 | $27.8 | $18.9 | -32% |
| 2022 | $18.9 | $6.29 | -67% |
| 2023 | $6.29 | $17.2 | +173% |
| 2024 | $17.2 | $79.1 | +361% |
| 2025 | $79.1 | $188.7 | +139% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.7 | $171.6 | -9.1% |
PLTR's yearly returns have swung widely, from +361% in 2024 to −67% in 2022. It's down 9.1% so far in 2026.