CAT vs ALSN vs DAN Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Allison Transmission Holdings and Dana Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$686.82 -15.5% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$319.06B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
DAN DANA Inc
$26.80 -9.8% 1M +35.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.94B
P/E
2.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.66B
Div. yield
0.02%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Dana leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Dana 6, Caterpillar 3, Allison Transmission Holdings 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATALSNDANLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $319.06B $8.96B $2.94B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.4x 16.9x 2.6x DAN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.6x 13.9x 14.1x ALSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +37.6% +3.7% ALSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 12.0% 14.6% DAN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 10.7% 0.0% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 3.4x 1.8x DAN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.02% DAN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.0% +27.8% +35.0% DAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.9%/yr +25.2%/yr +1.9%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 31.4% 44.1% ALSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 57/100 62/100 DAN

Percentile Scorecard

CATALSNDAN

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

AxisCATALSNDAN
Valuation 22 #159 of 203 74 #54 of 203 96 #10 of 203
Growth 68 #61 of 188 43 #108 of 188 82 #35 of 188
Profitability 91 #17 of 187 88 #24 of 187 47 #99 of 187
Financial Health 16 #186 of 222 14 #192 of 222 20 #177 of 222
Shareholder Returns 53 #72 of 153 66 #52 of 153 64 #56 of 153
Overall 50 57 62
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ALSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • DAN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATALSNDANSPY
1 month -15.5%-7.2%-9.8% -1.0%
3 months -22.7%-13.1%-0.9% +2.9%
6 months -17.3%-21.5%-31.2% +6.4%
Year to date +19.9%+8.6%+12.8% +11.4%
1 year +32.0%+27.8%+35.0% +13.1%
3 years +175.2%+85.2%+112.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +40.2%+22.8%+28.5% +21.5%
5 years +242.3%+207.7%+9.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +27.9%+25.2%+1.9% +10.9%
10 years +695.6%+286.6%+79.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +23.0%+14.5%+6.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCATALSNDANSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%31.4%44.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%30.1%45.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.831.041.28 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.790.890.79 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-34.1%-69.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.5%-21.8%-31.2% -2.5%
52-week high $1,064.90$136.00$38.93 $779.14
52-week low $520.50$79.27$19.47 $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.

MultipleCATALSNDAN
P/E now vs peer median 29.2xmedian 25.9x 16.7xmedian 25.9x 2.6xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.9x 2.0xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 13.7x 11.3xmedian 13.7x 6.9xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.1xmedian 21.1x 11.9xmedian 21.1x 20.2xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 2.3x 4.4xmedian 2.3x 1.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.24median 1.19 -5.86median 1.19 0.02median 1.19

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 monthsCATALSNDAN
Revenue $74.73B $4.40B $7.66B
Gross profit $25.66B $1.60B $725.00M
Operating income $13.09B $861.00M $210.00M
Net income $10.84B $529.00M $1.13B
Free cash flow $8.99B $737.00M $143.00M
R&D $2.27B $197.00M –
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $6.30 $10.18
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $399.00M $331.00M
Total debt $173.08B $4.14B $1.34B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 84.00M 109.50M
Enterprise value $290.75B $5.85B $1.25B

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
MetricCATALSNDAN
P/E 29.2x 16.7x 2.6x
P/FCF 35.1x 11.9x 20.2x
P/Operating cash flow 23.3x 9.4x 6.3x
P/S 4.2x 2.0x 0.4x
P/B 16.3x 4.4x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 23.6x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 11.3x 6.9x
EV/EBIT 27.1x 14.5x 18.6x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 2.8x 0.5x
EV/FCF 39.4x 17.0x 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 13.3x 8.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.24 -5.86 0.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATALSNDAN
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 37.6% 3.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 14.2% -9.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 3.5% 79.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.4% -6.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% -13.9% 307.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% -0.2% 6.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% -30.6% 28,400%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -5.4% 83.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% -29.8% 6,201%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% -2.8% 108.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 14.2% 49.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 7.1% -8.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% 12.7% 180.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 6.8% 5.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATALSNDAN
Gross margin 34.3% 36.4% 9.5%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 25.1% 7.3%
Operating margin 17.5% 19.6% 2.7%
Pretax margin 18.6% 15.7% 1.0%
Net margin 14.5% 12.0% 14.6%
FCF margin 12.0% 16.7% 1.9%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 21.3% 6.0%
Return on equity 57.0% 27.3% 56.6%
Return on assets 10.9% 6.1% 18.6%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 10.7% 0.0%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 11.7% 5.3%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.8x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATALSNDAN
Debt / assets 44.0% 47.5% 22.0%
Debt / equity 2.3x 2.1x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 3.4x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 5.6x 9.4x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 77.3% 67.6%
Equity / assets 18.9% 22.7% 32.4%
Interest coverage 6.8x – 1.5x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.8x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.55 1.78 2.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATALSNDAN
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.1% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 1.4% 19.5%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 2.5% 21.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% – 4.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% – 35.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% – -12.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – -4.2%

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.

ConsensusCATALSNDAN
Forward P/E 26.6xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 14.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $7.67FY2026 $1.90FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026 +413.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +45.5% +128.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $6.32BFY2026 $8.05BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +109.9%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +1.4% +34.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATALSNDAN
Held by institutions 72.3% 100.0% 99.2%
Institutions holding 4,055 566 342
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +1.1% +1.8%
Institutions buying 1,886 258 168
Institutions selling 1,595 229 126
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.13 1.33

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.

CATALSNDAN
CAT 1.00 0.52 0.42
ALSN 0.52 1.00 0.44
DAN 0.42 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, ALSN and DAN?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $319.06B, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) $8.96B, Dana (DAN) $2.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, ALSN and DAN?

Dana (DAN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 29.4x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 16.9x, Dana (DAN) 2.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 26.6x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 13.9x, Dana (DAN) 14.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +37.6%, Dana (DAN) +3.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Dana (DAN) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 12.0%, Dana (DAN) 14.6%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 10.7%, Dana (DAN) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Dana (DAN) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +27.8%, Dana (DAN) +35.0%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +27.9%/yr, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +25.2%/yr, Dana (DAN) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dana (DAN) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 0.00%, Dana (DAN) 0.02%. Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.4%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 31.4%, Dana (DAN) 44.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAT, ALSN and DAN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Dana (DAN) 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.