CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over TBI overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger fundamentals.
TBI
TrueBlue, Inc.
TBI 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.
TBI Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
TBI's revenue is currently healthy, but its profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
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.
TBI PE Valuation
TBI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year. If it returns to profit as analysts expect, today's price would be 18x next year's earnings.
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.
TBI Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Returning to profit | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect TBI to return to profit, with revenue growing.
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 has the edge over TBI on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
TBI Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.69 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.55 | -$0.59 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.89 | -$0.73 |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.79 | +$2.81 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.61 | +$2.56 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.96 | +$2.88 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.16 | +$2.42 |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.60 | -$4.23 |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.17 | -$3.72 |
TBI is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.55 per share over the past year, against $4.60 at its worst in early 2025.
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 TBI on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
TBI Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $520.7M | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $443M | +12% |
| Q1 2026 | $398.6M | +7.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $418.2M | +8.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $431.3M | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $396.3M | 0% |
| Q1 2025 | $370.3M | -8.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $386M | -22% |
TBI's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $521M last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | -4.5% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | -7% | -4.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 0% | +1.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | -0.7% | +14 points |
| Q1 2025 | -3.8% | 0 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2.7% | -1 points |
TBI's operating margin was 2.3% last quarter, up 2.3 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 has the edge over TBI on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
TBI Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$28.3M | -$4.9M |
| Q2 2026 | -$24M | -$7.9M |
| Q1 2026 | -$12.6M | +$14.2M |
| Q4 2025 | -$7.5M | -978% |
| Q3 2025 | -$23.4M | -$10.7M |
| Q2 2025 | -$16.1M | -$8.3M |
| Q1 2025 | -$26.8M | -$5.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $854K | -88% |
TBI has burned cash in seven of the last eight quarters: −$72M over the past year, against −$65M 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 the edge over TBI 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.
TBI Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +7.3% | +2.2M shares |
| 1 year | +9.2% | +2.7M shares |
| 3 years | +5.5% | +1.7M shares |
| 5 years | -8% | -2.8M shares |
| Available history | -17% | -6.5M shares |
TBI has 33M diluted shares, up 9.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $8,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $4.3M |
| Q2 2024 | $6.9M |
| Q1 2024 | $10.1M |
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.
TBI Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | 929.0x | High |
| Q4 2023 | -31.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2023 | -2.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2023 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2022 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2022 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2022 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
TBI's net debt is more than 20 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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).
TBI Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 70.8 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 74.6 | Neutral |
TBI's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 75 (neutral).
CAT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | CAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 24x | 1.3% below |
| PE % | 69 | 58 | 11 pts above |
CAT is trading at 24x earnings, in line with the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
TBI PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | TBI | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 24x | — |
TBI has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
TBI Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $9.92 | 24% above |
| 20 week MA | $9.34 | 32% above |
| 50 week MA | $6.73 | 84% above |
| 100 week MA | $6.42 | 92% above |
| 200 week MA | $9.78 | 26% above |
TBI 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.
TBI Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $23.6 | $19.2 | -19% |
| 2021 | $19.2 | $27.7 | +44% |
| 2022 | $27.7 | $19.2 | -30% |
| 2023 | $19.2 | $15.3 | -20% |
| 2024 | $15.3 | $7.87 | -49% |
| 2025 | $7.87 | $4.65 | -41% |
| 2026 YTD | $4.65 | $12.4 | +166% |
TBI has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.