CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over PSN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
PSN
Parsons Corporation
PSN 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.
PSN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
PSN's cash flow is currently healthy, and its revenue, profitability 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.
PSN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 15x | $49.87 | — |
| Cheap | 30x | $41.76 | -16% |
| Current | 36x | $49.87 | — |
| Fair | 49x | $67.03 | +34% |
| Expensive | 66x | $90.23 | +81% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PSN 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 PSN on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
PSN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect PSN'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 earned $25.48 per share over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
PSN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.33 | +143% |
| Q3 2026 | $1.37 | -37% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.45 | -35% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.09 | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.20 | +189% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.18 | +230% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.24 | +421% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.37 | +1217% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.76 | -46% |
PSN 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 has the edge over PSN on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 PSN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PSN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.7B | +1.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | -0.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | -4.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | -7.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | -10% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B | -5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.6B | +1.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B | +16% |
PSN's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $1.7B last quarter, up 1.8% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.3% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1% | -6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 6.4% | -0.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.6% | +0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 6.7% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 6% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 7% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 5.8% | +0.6 points |
PSN's operating margin was 6.3% last quarter, about level with 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
PSN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $250.8M | +68% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.5M | -72% |
| Q1 2026 | -$18.6M | +$6.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $135.6M | +26% |
| Q3 2025 | $149.7M | -48% |
| Q2 2025 | $150.4M | -1.1% |
| Q1 2025 | -$25.3M | +$47.6M |
| Q4 2024 | $108M | -40% |
PSN generated $409M in free cash flow over the past year, up 6.9% from 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 461M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $8.1B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
PSN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.9% | -927K shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -2.3M shares |
| 3 years | -6.9% | -8M shares |
| 5 years | -4.8% | -5.4M shares |
| Available history | +15% | +14M shares |
PSN has 107M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $170M in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $60M |
| Q2 2026 | $15M |
| Q1 2026 | $35M |
| Q4 2025 | $60M |
| Q3 2025 | $25M |
| Q2 2025 | $15M |
| Q1 2025 | $25M |
| Q4 2024 | $15M |
PSN spent $170M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 112% 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 PSN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
PSN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
PSN's net debt is about 2.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.6 years 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).
PSN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 64.6 | Neutral |
PSN's weekly RSI is 49 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 65 (neutral).
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 PSN on valuation relative to its sector.
PSN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | PSN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 36x | 24x | 51% above |
| PE % | 29 | 58 | 29 pts below |
PSN is trading at 36x earnings, a 51% 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.
PSN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $46.5 | 7.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $48.7 | 2.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $55.3 | 9.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $65.3 | 24% below |
| 200 week MA | $66.8 | 25% below |
PSN has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 25% 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 PSN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PSN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $41.1 | $35.2 | -14% |
| 2021 | $35.2 | $33.8 | -4.2% |
| 2022 | $33.8 | $46.1 | +36% |
| 2023 | $46.1 | $62.7 | +36% |
| 2024 | $62.7 | $93.1 | +49% |
| 2025 | $93.1 | $62.6 | -33% |
| 2026 YTD | $62.6 | $49.9 | -20% |
PSN has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 20% so far in 2026.