CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
WTS
Watts Water Technologies, Inc.
WTS has the edge over CAT overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
CAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
CAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
WTS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
WTS'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.
WTS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 23x | $301 | -16% |
| Fair | 26x | $350 | -2.1% |
| Current | 27x | $357 | — |
| Expensive | 34x | $453 | +27% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
WTS 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.
WTS Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for WTS to show an outlook.
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.
WTS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $13.34 | +38% |
| Q2 2026 | $11.45 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.93 | +25% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.17 | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.69 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.30 | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.73 | +8.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.69 | +11% |
WTS 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's operating margin was 20% last quarter, up 3.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
WTS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $728M | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $763.2M | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $677.3M | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $625.1M | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $611.7M | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $643.7M | +7.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $558M | -2.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $540.4M | -1.3% |
WTS has the edge over CAT on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 26% | +8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 20% | -0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | +3.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 18% | +1.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +1.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 21% | +2.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 16% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 16% | +2.1 points |
WTS has the edge over CAT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
WTS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $131.9M | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $91.6M | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.6M | -86% |
| Q4 2025 | $140.3M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $110.9M | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $59.5M | -24% |
| Q1 2025 | $45.6M | +28% |
| Q4 2024 | $127.5M | +29% |
WTS 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 WTS 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.
WTS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | 0% | -- |
| 3 years | 0% | -- |
| 5 years | -1.2% | -400K shares |
| Available history | -2% | -700K shares |
WTS has 34M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $4.1M |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $4.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $3.9M |
| Q2 2025 | $4M |
| Q1 2025 | $3.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $4M |
WTS spent $16M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 1.3% 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.
WTS 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 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
WTS 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).
WTS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 55.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 28.3 | Neutral |
WTS's weekly RSI is 55 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 28 (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 WTS on valuation relative to its sector.
WTS PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | WTS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 24x | 11% above |
| PE % | 52 | 58 | 6 pts below |
WTS is trading at 27x earnings, a 11% 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.
WTS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $355.0 | 0.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $359.3 | 0.6% below |
| 50 week MA | $325.8 | 9.6% above |
| 100 week MA | $282.9 | 26% above |
| 200 week MA | $236.1 | 51% above |
WTS 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.
WTS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $99.8 | $120.9 | +21% |
| 2021 | $120.9 | $188.7 | +56% |
| 2022 | $188.7 | $146.9 | -22% |
| 2023 | $146.9 | $208.3 | +42% |
| 2024 | $208.3 | $203.7 | -2.2% |
| 2025 | $203.7 | $284.3 | +40% |
| 2026 YTD | $284.3 | $357.2 | +26% |
WTS has the edge over CAT on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.