BLBD vs CMI vs CAT Stock Comparison

Blue Bird, Cummins and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BLBD Blue Bird Corp
$58.04 -0.1% 1M +2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.95B
P/E
6.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.61B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
6 wins
CMI Cummins Inc
$521.78 -0.7% 1M +23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$73.13B
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.71B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
1 win
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$691.78 -15.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$328.70B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Blue Bird leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Blue Bird 6, Caterpillar 4, Cummins 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBLBDCMICATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.95B $73.13B $328.70B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.9x 26.9x 30.3x BLBD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.0x 16.6x 26.8x BLBD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.5% +2.9% +18.4% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.5% 7.8% 14.5% BLBD
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 29.3% 13.6% 15.9% BLBD
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.7x 2.5x BLBD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.9% +23.8% +32.3% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.1%/yr +17.3%/yr +28.7%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 37.2% 40.5% CMI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 60/100 51/100 BLBD

Percentile Scorecard

BLBDCMICAT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBLBDCMICAT
Valuation 94 #14 of 203 51 #101 of 203 22 #159 of 203
Growth 93 #15 of 187 54 #87 of 187 68 #60 of 187
Profitability 90 #19 of 185 71 #54 of 185 92 #16 of 185
Financial Health 71 #64 of 219 51 #107 of 219 17 #183 of 219
Shareholder Returns 32 #105 of 153 72 #44 of 153 56 #68 of 153
Overall 76 60 51
  • BLBD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CMI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBLBDCMICATSPY
1 month -0.1%-0.7%-15.8% -0.8%
3 months -23.7%-21.1%-20.8% +3.5%
6 months -10.0%-21.0%-16.5% +7.0%
Year to date +23.5%+2.2%+20.8% +12.2%
1 year +2.9%+23.8%+32.3% +13.0%
3 years +211.4%+142.4%+190.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +46.1%+34.4%+42.6% +23.1%
5 years +206.1%+122.2%+252.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +25.1%+17.3%+28.7% +11.0%
10 years +294.6%+312.4%+722.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.7%+15.2%+23.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureBLBDCMICATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%37.2%40.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.7%38.0%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.131.641.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.070.640.80 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.9%-30.8%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.8%-28.3%-35.0% -1.8%
52-week high $81.50$727.59$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $46.59$414.30$524.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBLBDCMICAT
P/E now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 26.0x 26.5xmedian 26.0x 29.4xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.9x 2.1xmedian 1.9x 4.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 14.0x 15.0xmedian 14.0x 23.0xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 21.4x 21.3xmedian 21.4x 35.4xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.2x 5.2xmedian 2.2x 16.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 1.26 8.26median 1.26 2.25median 1.26

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBLBDCMICAT
Revenue $1.61B $34.71B $74.73B
Gross profit $331.66M $8.79B $25.66B
Operating income $189.81M $3.89B $13.09B
Net income $281.81M $2.83B $10.84B
Free cash flow $153.14M $3.37B $8.99B
R&D – $1.44B $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $8.02 $19.60 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $116.82M $3.18B $6.71B
Total debt $86.81M $7.35B $45.15B
Shares (diluted) 35.15M 138.50M 462.50M
Enterprise value $1.08B $69.21B $300.40B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBLBDCMICAT
P/E 7.1x 26.5x 29.4x
P/FCF 12.0x 21.3x 35.4x
P/Operating cash flow 10.2x 15.5x 23.4x
P/S 1.1x 2.1x 4.3x
P/B 2.8x 5.2x 16.4x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 6.1x 16.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.6x 15.0x 23.0x
EV/EBIT 9.5x 19.3x 27.2x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 2.2x 4.8x
EV/FCF 11.8x 22.4x 39.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.0x 16.2x 26.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 8.26 2.25

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBLBDCMICAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.5% 2.9% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 2.5% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.9% 1.7% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 57.8% 4.8% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 33.3% -6.0% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 598.6% 4.1% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 143.2% -7.8% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 160.8% 2.9% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 125.4% -7.7% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 155.1% 3.2% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.4% 63.4% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.5% 28.8% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.0% 103.8% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 45.3% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBLBDCMICAT
Gross margin 20.6% 25.3% 34.3%
EBITDA margin 13.1% 14.4% 20.7%
Operating margin 11.8% 11.2% 17.5%
Pretax margin 20.0% 11.1% 18.6%
Net margin 17.5% 7.8% 14.5%
FCF margin 9.5% 9.7% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin 11.2% 13.4% 18.2%
Return on equity 58.9% 20.7% 57.0%
Return on assets 30.2% 8.1% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 29.3% 13.6% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 30.9% 16.0% 22.1%
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.6x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBLBDCMICAT
Debt / assets 7.4% 20.6% 44.0%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.5x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.7x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 2.2x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.9% 61.0% 81.1%
Equity / assets 56.1% 39.0% 18.9%
Interest coverage 27.9x 12.1x 6.8x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.7x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.66 4.51 4.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBLBDCMICAT
Dividend yield – 1.6% 0.9%
Net buyback yield 0.4% 0.7% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 2.2% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 25.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 31.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 4.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBLBDCMICAT
Forward P/E 13.0xFY2026 16.6xFY2026 26.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.48FY2026 $31.39FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.3%FY2026 +31.9%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.9% +14.7% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.64BFY2026 $35.38BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.7%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.4% +11.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBLBDCMICAT
Held by institutions 94.5% 85.4% 72.3%
Institutions holding 303 2,105 4,055
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +1.0% +0.5%
Institutions buying 169 1,048 1,886
Institutions selling 100 728 1,595
Buyers to sellers 1.69 1.44 1.18

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BLBDCMICAT
BLBD 1.00 0.25 0.31
CMI 0.25 1.00 0.78
CAT 0.31 0.78 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BLBD, CMI and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Blue Bird (BLBD) $1.95B, Cummins (CMI) $73.13B, Caterpillar (CAT) $328.70B.

Which stock is cheaper, BLBD, CMI and CAT?

Blue Bird (BLBD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Blue Bird (BLBD) 6.9x, Cummins (CMI) 26.9x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Blue Bird (BLBD) is cheapest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 13.0x, Cummins (CMI) 16.6x, Caterpillar (CAT) 26.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caterpillar (CAT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Blue Bird (BLBD) +13.5%, Cummins (CMI) +2.9%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Blue Bird (BLBD) has the highest net margin (Blue Bird (BLBD) 17.5%, Cummins (CMI) 7.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Blue Bird (BLBD) leads (Blue Bird (BLBD) 29.3%, Cummins (CMI) 13.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Blue Bird (BLBD) +2.9%, Cummins (CMI) +23.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.3%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Blue Bird (BLBD) +25.1%/yr, Cummins (CMI) +17.3%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Blue Bird (BLBD) 0.00%, Cummins (CMI) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Blue Bird (BLBD) and Cummins (CMI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cummins (CMI) has been the steadiest (Blue Bird (BLBD) 42.8%, Cummins (CMI) 37.2%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BLBD, CMI and CAT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Blue Bird (BLBD) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.