CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT has the edge over UNF overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
UNF
UniFirst Corporation
UNF's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
UNF Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
UNF's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue and profitability are stable, but its cash flow is 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 has the edge over UNF in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
UNF PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 22x | $134 | -45% |
| Fair | 28x | $167 | -31% |
| Forward | 29x | $241 | — |
| Expensive | 34x | $205 | -15% |
| Current | 40x | $241 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
UNF's PE is in its expensive range at 40x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 29x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
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.
UNF Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for UNF, 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.
UNF Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $8.45 | +40% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.02 | -25% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.34 | -22% |
| Q1 2026 | $7.38 | -8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.56 | -3.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.98 | +2.7% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.14 | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.04 | +31% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.82 | +31% |
UNF 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 UNF on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
UNF Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $645M | +5% |
| Q2 2026 | $634.4M | +3.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $622.5M | +3.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $621.3M | +2.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $614.4M | -4% |
| Q2 2025 | $610.8M | +1.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $602.2M | +1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $604.9M | +1.9% |
UNF's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $645M last quarter, up 5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.5% | -1.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 3.6% | -4.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 4.2% | -1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.3% | -1.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.1% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 7.9% | -0.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 5.2% | +0.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.2% | +0.2 points |
UNF's operating margin was 6.5% last quarter, down 1.6 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 UNF on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
UNF Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.4M | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.2M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $35.2M | -6.5% |
| Q4 2025 | -$24M | -198% |
| Q3 2025 | $55.9M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $24.4M | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $37.7M | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $24.6M | +271% |
UNF still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2024 peak: $71M 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 461M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago, with $8.1B in buybacks over the past year.
| 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.
UNF Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -20K shares |
| 1 year | -2.1% | -385K shares |
| 3 years | -3% | -566K shares |
| 5 years | -4.4% | -842K shares |
| Available history | -4.8% | -927K shares |
UNF has 18M diluted shares, down 2.1% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | $32.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $45.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $13.1M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.2M |
| Q4 2024 | $6.4M |
UNF spent $33M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 54% from 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 more cash than debt.
UNF Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
UNF 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).
UNF Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.9 | Oversold |
UNF's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 17 (oversold).
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 UNF on valuation relative to its sector.
UNF PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | UNF | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 24x | 67% above |
| PE % | 96 | 58 | 38 pts above |
UNF is trading at 40x earnings, a 67% premium to 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 |
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.
UNF Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $256.0 | 5.7% below |
| 20 week MA | $271.6 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $250.8 | 3.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $216.5 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $195.9 | 23% above |
UNF has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 23% above 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 finished every year since 2020 higher, and it's up 3.8% so far in 2026.
UNF Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $202.7 | $208.0 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | $208.0 | $203.2 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | $203.2 | $190.1 | -6.4% |
| 2023 | $190.1 | $182.9 | -3.8% |
| 2024 | $182.9 | $172.8 | -5.5% |
| 2025 | $172.8 | $197.6 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $197.6 | $241.5 | +22% |
UNF has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.