CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over STN overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
STN
Stantec Inc.
STN 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.
STN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
STN's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet 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.
STN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 24x | $75.87 | +1% |
| Current | 24x | $75.13 | — |
| Fair | 36x | $113 | +51% |
| Expensive | 40x | $125 | +67% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
STN 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.
STN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for STN, 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.
STN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $3.12 | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.03 | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.96 | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.99 | +42% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.69 | +26% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.38 | +9.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.25 | +7.1% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.11 | +0.5% |
STN 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 has the edge over STN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
STN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $1.3B | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +7.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B | +7.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | -24% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.4B | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +22% |
| Q3 2024 | $1.4B | +55% |
STN's revenue has grown year over year for four quarters in a row: $1.3B last quarter, up 23% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 8.4% | +0.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 8.7% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 10% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.4% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 8% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 7.6% | +0.3 points |
| Q3 2024 | 8.8% | -1.4 points |
STN's operating margin was 14% last quarter, up 5 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
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.
STN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $69.3M | -14% |
| Q1 2026 | -$16.8M | -128% |
| Q4 2025 | $203.6M | -4.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $212M | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $80.8M | +234% |
| Q1 2025 | $59.5M | +281% |
| Q4 2024 | $213.5M | +25% |
| Q3 2024 | $101.1M | +27% |
STN 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 STN 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.
STN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -507K shares |
| 1 year | -0.4% | -507K shares |
| 3 years | +2.3% | +2.5M shares |
| 5 years | +1.6% | +1.8M shares |
| Available history | +1.8% | +2M shares |
STN has 114M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $123.7M |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
STN spent $124M buying back its own shares over the past year, after none 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 STN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
STN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.7x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.9x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q3 2024 | 2.4x | Moderate |
STN's net debt is about 2.0 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).
STN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.9 | Neutral |
STN's weekly RSI is 52 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (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 STN on valuation relative to its sector.
STN PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | STN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | Same PE |
| PE % | 15 | 58 | 43 pts below |
STN is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x, though its earnings don't support one.
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.
STN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $70.7 | 6.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $71.0 | 5.8% above |
| 50 week MA | $81.2 | 7.5% below |
| 100 week MA | $89.0 | 16% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.9 | 7.2% below |
STN has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8- and 20-week averages, but 7.2% 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 STN on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
STN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $28.1 | $32.2 | +14% |
| 2021 | $32.2 | $55.4 | +72% |
| 2022 | $55.4 | $47.1 | -15% |
| 2023 | $47.1 | $80.2 | +70% |
| 2024 | $80.2 | $78.9 | -1.6% |
| 2025 | $78.9 | $96.1 | +22% |
| 2026 YTD | $96.1 | $75.1 | -22% |
STN has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 22% so far in 2026.