CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over POWL overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
POWL
Powell Industries, Inc.
POWL 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.
POWL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
POWL's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is 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.
POWL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $83.03 | -41% |
| Forward | 21x | $142 | — |
| Fair | 26x | $135 | -4.6% |
| Current | 27x | $142 | — |
| Expensive | 51x | $266 | +87% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
POWL 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 |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CAT, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
POWL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for POWL, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
POWL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.71 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.21 | +8.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.11 | +7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.13 | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.95 | +21% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.80 | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.74 | +69% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.39 | +107% |
| Q3 2024 | $4.10 | +173% |
POWL 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.
POWL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $311.7M | +8.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $296.6M | +6.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $251.2M | +4% |
| Q3 2025 | $298M | +8.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $286.3M | -0.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $278.6M | +9.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $241.4M | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $275.1M | +32% |
POWL's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $312M last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | -1.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | +0.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 21% | +1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 21% | +5.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2024 | 20% | +6.1 points |
POWL 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.
POWL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $93.7M | +122% |
| Q1 2026 | $49.3M | +169% |
| Q4 2025 | $41.6M | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $59.3M | +$73.8M |
| Q2 2025 | $42.3M | +242% |
| Q1 2025 | $18.3M | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $34.9M | -58% |
| Q3 2024 | -$14.4M | -120% |
POWL 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 POWL 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.
POWL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +20K shares |
| 1 year | +0.2% | +79K shares |
| 3 years | +0.5% | +184K shares |
| 5 years | +4.1% | +1.4M shares |
| Available history | +4.9% | +1.7M shares |
POWL has 37M diluted shares, about the same as 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.
POWL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -2.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
POWL 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).
POWL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 32.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 15.7 | Oversold |
POWL's weekly RSI is 33 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
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 POWL on valuation relative to its sector.
POWL PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | POWL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 24x | 13% above |
| PE % | 56 | 58 | 2 pts below |
POWL is trading at 27x earnings, a 13% 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.
POWL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $165.6 | 14% below |
| 20 week MA | $191.5 | 26% below |
| 50 week MA | $197.6 | 28% below |
| 100 week MA | $138.4 | 2.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $89.4 | 59% above |
POWL has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 59% 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
POWL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $16.4 | $10.2 | -38% |
| 2021 | $10.2 | $9.84 | -3.4% |
| 2022 | $9.84 | $11.9 | +21% |
| 2023 | $11.9 | $29.5 | +148% |
| 2024 | $29.5 | $77.0 | +161% |
| 2025 | $77.0 | $113.6 | +48% |
| 2026 YTD | $113.6 | $141.8 | +25% |
POWL has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.