CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over SYM overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
SYM
Symbotic Inc.
SYM 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.
SYM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
SYM's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
SYM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 82x | $35.44 | — |
| Current | 443x | $35.44 | — |
| Cheap | 477x | $38.19 | +7.8% |
| Fair | 521x | $41.71 | +18% |
| Expensive | 536x | $42.85 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
SYM 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 SYM on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
SYM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for SYM, with profitability holding steady.
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.
SYM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.43 | +438% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.08 | +$0.17 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.06 | +$0.03 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.11 | +$0.03 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.16 | -$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.09 | +$0.16 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.09 | +$0.18 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.14 | +$0.14 |
| Q3 2024 | -$0.14 | +$0.23 |
SYM 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 SYM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
SYM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $720.8M | +22% |
| Q1 2026 | $676.5M | +23% |
| Q4 2025 | $630M | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $618.5M | +9.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $592.1M | +26% |
| Q1 2025 | $549.7M | +40% |
| Q4 2024 | $486.7M | +35% |
| Q3 2024 | $564.6M | +44% |
SYM has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 4.6% | +11 points |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9% | +6.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 1% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | -3.5% | -5.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | -6.2% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | -5.8% | +11 points |
| Q4 2024 | -5.1% | +1.9 points |
| Q3 2024 | 1.9% | +16 points |
SYM's operating margin was 4.6% last quarter, up 11 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
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 has the edge over SYM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
SYM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$147.3M | -$9M |
| Q1 2026 | $261.3M | -3.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $191.5M | -3.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $530.7M | +$650.8M |
| Q2 2025 | -$138.3M | -512% |
| Q1 2025 | $269.6M | +1351% |
| Q4 2024 | $197.7M | +$230M |
| Q3 2024 | -$120.1M | -344% |
SYM usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$147M, but it generated $836M 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 SYM 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.
SYM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.8% | -1.1M shares |
| 1 year | +22% | +24.1M shares |
| 3 years | +116% | +71.5M shares |
SYM has 133M diluted shares, up 22% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2020 | — |
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.
SYM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -29.4x | Net Cash |
SYM 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).
SYM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 36.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.4 | Oversold |
SYM's weekly RSI is 36 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.1% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT has the edge over SYM on valuation relative to its sector.
SYM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | SYM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 443x | 24x | 1,744% above |
SYM is trading at 443x earnings, a 1744% premium to 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 the edge over SYM on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
SYM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.7 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $41.0 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $49.1 | 28% below |
| 100 week MA | $44.4 | 20% below |
| 200 week MA | $39.6 | 11% below |
SYM is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% 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 SYM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
SYM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $10.4 | $9.97 | -4.5% |
| 2022 | $9.97 | $11.0 | +11% |
| 2023 | $11.0 | $51.3 | +366% |
| 2024 | $51.3 | $24.1 | -53% |
| 2025 | $24.1 | $58.0 | +141% |
| 2026 YTD | $58.0 | $35.4 | -39% |
SYM's yearly returns have swung widely, from +366% in 2023 to −53% in 2024. It's down 39% so far in 2026.