CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over ROP overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ROP
Roper Technologies, Inc.
ROP 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.
ROP Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Stable |
ROP's profitability and cash flow are currently strong, and its revenue 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.
ROP PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 17x | $423 | -11% |
| Current | 19x | $478 | — |
| Forward | 20x | $478 | — |
| Fair | 28x | $720 | +51% |
| Expensive | 42x | $1,073 | +124% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ROP 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 |
CAT has the edge over ROP on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
ROP Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ROP, 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.
ROP Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $24.21 | -4.5% |
| Q3 2026 | $25.34 | +75% |
| Q2 2026 | $24.14 | +70% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.01 | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.20 | -1% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.51 | +6.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.23 | +5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.86 | +0.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.34 | +11% |
ROP 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.
ROP Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.2B | +7.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.1B | +8.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.1B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.1B | +9.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $2B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.9B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.9B | +16% |
ROP's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $2.2B last quarter, up 7.6% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | -0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 27% | -0.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 29% | +0.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 28% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | -0.7 points |
ROP 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.
ROP Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $820.6M | -5.6% |
| Q2 2026 | $469.5M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $592.1M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $738M | +2.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $869.5M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $404.1M | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $528.7M | -0.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $722.2M | +16% |
ROP 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 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.
ROP Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.2% | -1.2M shares |
| 1 year | -8.3% | -9M shares |
| 3 years | -7.6% | -8.2M shares |
| 5 years | -6.8% | -7.3M shares |
| Available history | -5.4% | -5.7M shares |
ROP has the edge over CAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B |
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 ROP on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ROP Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.7x | Moderate |
ROP's net debt is about 2.9 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as 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).
ROP Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.3 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 86.5 | Overbought |
ROP's weekly RSI is 70 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
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.
ROP PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ROP | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 24x | 22% below |
| PE % | 28 | 58 | 30 pts below |
ROP has the edge over CAT on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
ROP Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $414.9 | 15% above |
| 20 week MA | $398.5 | 20% above |
| 50 week MA | $380.7 | 26% above |
| 100 week MA | $458.4 | 4.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $484.8 | 1.4% below |
ROP 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
ROP Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $357.3 | $420.1 | +18% |
| 2021 | $420.1 | $478.3 | +14% |
| 2022 | $478.3 | $430.1 | -10% |
| 2023 | $430.1 | $545.2 | +27% |
| 2024 | $545.2 | $523.9 | -3.9% |
| 2025 | $523.9 | $450.8 | -14% |
| 2026 YTD | $450.8 | $477.9 | +6% |
ROP has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.