CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has a slight edge over ULS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
ULS
UL Solutions Inc.
ULS 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.
ULS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
ULS's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue 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.
ULS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 32x | $81.55 | — |
| Forward | 32x | $81.55 | — |
| Cheap | 33x | $82.52 | +1.2% |
| Fair | 42x | $105 | +29% |
| Expensive | 52x | $130 | +60% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ULS 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 ULS on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
ULS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ULS, 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.
ULS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.52 | +0.1% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.52 | +51% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.48 | +53% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.72 | +3% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.60 | -1.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.67 | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.62 | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.67 | +27% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.62 | +24% |
ULS 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 ULS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ULS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $823M | +5.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $816M | +5.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $758M | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $789M | +6.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $783M | +7.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $776M | +6.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $705M | +5.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $739M | +8% |
ULS's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since early 2023: $823M last quarter, up 5.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -0.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 18% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 15% | -0.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +2.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +2.8 points |
ULS's operating margin was 20% last quarter, about level with 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.
ULS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $154M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $91M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $150M | +46% |
| Q4 2025 | $86M | +19% |
| Q3 2025 | $109M | +30% |
| Q2 2025 | $105M | +123% |
| Q1 2025 | $103M | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $72M | +7.5% |
ULS 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 ULS 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.
ULS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | +2% | +4M shares |
ULS has 204M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2023 | — |
| Q3 2023 | — |
| Q2 2023 | — |
| Q1 2023 | — |
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
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 ULS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
ULS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.7x | Very low |
ULS has more cash than debt.
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).
ULS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.4 | Neutral |
ULS's weekly RSI is 54 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 60 (neutral).
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 ULS on valuation relative to its sector.
ULS PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | ULS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 32x | 24x | 34% above |
| PE % | 13 | 44 | 31 pts below |
ULS is trading at 32x earnings, a 34% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x, though its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 |
ULS has stronger trend alignment. CAT is above 2 of 5 weekly averages versus ULS above 3 of 4.
ULS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $73.0 | 12% above |
| 20 week MA | $77.4 | 5.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $82.1 | 0.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $73.6 | 11% above |
ULS's trend is mixed: it's above three of its four weekly moving averages, and 11% 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 ULS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
ULS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $34.9 | $50.4 | +44% |
| 2025 | $50.4 | $80.0 | +59% |
| 2026 YTD | $80.0 | $81.6 | +2% |
ULS has finished every year since 2024 higher, and it's up 2% so far in 2026.