CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over PLUG overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
PLUG
Plug Power Inc.
PLUG 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.
PLUG Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Unavailable |
PLUG's revenue is currently stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure. 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.
PLUG PE Valuation
PLUG 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.
PLUG Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect PLUG'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 PLUG on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
PLUG Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$1.33 | +$0.94 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.39 | +$1.04 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.42 | +$1.26 |
| Q3 2025 | -$2.33 | -$0.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.27 | +$0.10 |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.43 | -$0.02 |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.68 | -$0.38 |
| Q3 2024 | -$2.15 | -$0.54 |
PLUG is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.33 per share over the past year, against $2.68 at its worst in late 2024.
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 PLUG on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PLUG Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $200.6M | +13% |
| Q2 2026 | $178.3M | +2.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $163.5M | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $225.2M | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $177.1M | +1.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $174M | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $133.7M | +11% |
| Q4 2024 | $191.5M | -14% |
PLUG's revenue is recovering but still below its 2020 peak: $201M last quarter, up 13% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -38% | +160 points |
| Q2 2026 | -36% | +66 points |
| Q1 2026 | -67% | +67 points |
| Q4 2025 | -339% | +340 points |
| Q3 2025 | -197% | -73 points |
| Q2 2025 | -102% | +69 points |
| Q1 2025 | -134% | +82 points |
| Q4 2024 | -679% | -397 points |
PLUG's operating margin was −38% last quarter, up 159 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 PLUG on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
PLUG Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$79.7M | +$37.8M |
| Q2 2026 | -$100.4M | +$130.1M |
| Q1 2026 | -$152.4M | -$6.4M |
| Q4 2025 | -$153M | +$12.2M |
| Q3 2025 | -$117.5M | +$116.6M |
| Q2 2025 | -$230.4M | +$125.6M |
| Q1 2025 | -$146M | +$114.3M |
| Q4 2024 | -$165.2M | +$258.6M |
PLUG has burned cash in almost every quarter: −$486M over the past year, against −$659M 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 PLUG 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.
PLUG Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +1.5M shares |
| 1 year | +23% | +265M shares |
| 3 years | +136% | +802M shares |
| 5 years | +171% | +878M shares |
PLUG has 1.4B diluted shares, up 23% 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.
PLUG Net Leverage
PLUG'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).
PLUG Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 28.4 | Oversold |
| Stochastic | 5.2 | Oversold |
PLUG's weekly RSI is 28 (oversold) and its Stochastic is 5 (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.
PLUG PE vs Industrials Sector
PLUG 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 PLUG on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
PLUG Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $1.55 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $1.94 | 36% below |
| 50 week MA | $2.31 | 46% below |
| 100 week MA | $2.06 | 40% below |
| 200 week MA | $4.02 | 69% below |
PLUG is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 69% 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 the edge over PLUG on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PLUG Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $3.08 | $35.6 | +1055% |
| 2021 | $35.6 | $29.4 | -17% |
| 2022 | $29.4 | $12.3 | -58% |
| 2023 | $12.3 | $4.50 | -64% |
| 2024 | $4.50 | $2.38 | -47% |
| 2025 | $2.38 | $2.07 | -13% |
| 2026 YTD | $2.07 | $1.24 | -40% |
PLUG has finished five years in a row lower, and it's down 40% so far in 2026.