CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over SARO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
SARO
StandardAero, Inc.
SARO 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.
SARO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Stable |
SARO's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue, cash flow 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.
SARO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 16x | $27.56 | — |
| Cheap | 25x | $25.85 | -6.2% |
| Current | 26x | $27.56 | — |
| Fair | 30x | $31.90 | +16% |
| Expensive | 33x | $35.00 | +27% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SARO 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.
SARO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for SARO, with profitability improving.
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.
SARO Earnings Per Share
SARO has the edge over CAT in the latest year-over-year earnings comparison.
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 SARO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
SARO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +4% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +4.6% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.6B | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +14% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +22% |
SARO has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 10% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.8% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.3% | +2.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 9.2% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 8.9% | +1.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 6.7% | -0.2 points |
SARO's operating margin was 10% last quarter, up 1.2 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 generated $11.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
SARO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $98.2M | +$102.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $51.3M | +$70.3M |
| Q1 2026 | -$135.1M | -$85.8M |
| Q2 2025 | -$19M | -149% |
| Q1 2025 | -$49.3M | +$52.8M |
| Q2 2024 | $38.6M | +$149M |
| Q1 2024 | -$102.1M | +$8.3M |
SARO's free cash flow has turned positive after two years mostly in the red: $322M over the past year.
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 SARO 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.
SARO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -1.3M shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -3.4M shares |
| 3 years | -1% | -3.4M shares |
SARO has 331M diluted shares, down 1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $50M |
| Q2 2026 | $40M |
| Q1 2026 | $60.1M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
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 SARO on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
SARO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.6x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.7x | Elevated |
SARO's net debt is about 2.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 3.2 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).
SARO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 57.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 58.4 | Neutral |
SARO's weekly RSI is 57 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 58 (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 SARO on valuation relative to its sector.
SARO PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | SARO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 24x | 9.1% above |
| PE % | 27 | 32 | 5 pts below |
SARO is trading at 26x earnings, in line with 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 |
SARO has stronger trend alignment. CAT is above 2 of 5 weekly averages versus SARO above 4 of 4.
SARO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $23.2 | 19% above |
| 20 week MA | $25.3 | 8.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $27.0 | 2.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $27.1 | 1.5% above |
SARO is in an uptrend: it's above all four of its weekly moving averages, and 1.5% above its 100-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 SARO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SARO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $32.5 | $25.6 | -21% |
| 2025 | $25.6 | $29.2 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $29.2 | $27.6 | -5.5% |
SARO has finished lower in one of the last two years. It's down 5.5% so far in 2026.