CAT vs CEPL vs HWM Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Capstone Energy Plus and Howmet Aerospace Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$714.23 -12.9% 1M +36.2% 1Y
Market cap
$304.94B
P/E
28.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
6 wins
HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc.
$195.28 -14.5% 1M -2.9% 1Y
Market cap
$82.26B
P/E
44.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$9.12B
Div. yield
0.00%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 6, Howmet Aerospace 4, Capstone Energy Plus 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATCEPLHWMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $304.94B $103.08M $82.26B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.1x 28.8x 44.0x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x — 37.6x CAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +5.4% +18.1% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 3.5% 20.5% HWM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% — 19.4% HWM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -0.7x 1.4x CEPL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% CAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.2% — -2.9% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.5%/yr — +45.8%/yr HWM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.5% 112.5% 35.2% HWM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 75/100 73/100 CEPL

Percentile Scorecard

CATCEPLHWM

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

AxisCATCEPLHWM
Valuation 25 #153 of 203 93 #5 of 61 40 #60 of 100
Growth 70 #58 of 188 91 #6 of 58 91 #10 of 97
Profitability 93 #13 of 184 85 #9 of 55 98 #3 of 96
Financial Health 18 #179 of 217 23 #55 of 71 49 #54 of 105
Shareholder Returns 60 #62 of 153 82 #6 of 29 86 #10 of 65
Overall 53 75 73
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CEPL ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • HWM ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATCEPLHWMSPY
1 month -12.9%-31.7%-14.5% +0.9%
3 months -8.8%-57.0%-28.4% +5.9%
6 months -11.8%—-17.4% +8.5%
Year to date +24.7%—-4.8% +13.3%
1 year +36.2%—-2.9% +12.4%
3 years +199.4%—+353.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +44.2%—+65.5% +23.5%
5 years +250.1%—+557.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +28.5%—+45.8% +11.0%
10 years +751.5%—— +263.4%
10 years, per year +23.9%—— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCATCEPLHWMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.5%112.5%35.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.1%121.1%36.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.853.681.10 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89—-0.08 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-77.8%-36.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.9%-74.2%-33.3% -0.9%
52-week high $1,064.90$11.88$292.71 $779.14
52-week low $524.47$2.64$185.88 $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.

MultipleCATCEPLHWM
P/E now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 25.4x 29.4xmedian 29.4x 41.8xmedian 26.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 2.6x 8.6xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 14.3x 9.9xmedian 18.4x 29.3xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.5xmedian 21.8x 34.7xmedian 24.4x 43.6xmedian 26.1x
P/B now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 2.2x -2.2xmedian 1.8x 13.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 2.33median 1.41 1.07median 1.07 0.77median 0.90

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 monthsCATCEPLHWM
Revenue $74.73B $103.06M $9.12B
Gross profit $25.66B $35.07M $3.29B
Operating income $13.09B $4.53M $2.50B
Net income $10.84B $3.56M $1.87B
Free cash flow $8.99B $2.87M $1.79B
R&D $2.27B $4.03M $37.00M
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $0.10 $4.65
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $32.30M $563.00M
Total debt $45.15B $109.19M $4.50B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 34.34M 402.00M
Enterprise value $276.64B $18.99M $77.86B

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
MetricCATCEPLHWM
P/E 30.3x 29.4x 41.8x
P/FCF 36.5x 34.7x 43.6x
P/Operating cash flow 24.2x 22.3x 35.2x
P/S 4.4x 1.0x 8.6x
P/B 16.9x -2.2x 13.6x
P/Tangible book 17.3x -2.0x 16.1x
EV/EBITDA 23.7x 9.9x 29.3x
EV/EBIT 28.0x 20.5x 32.9x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 0.9x 9.0x
EV/FCF 40.8x 32.3x 45.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x 20.7x 36.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.33 1.07 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATCEPLHWM
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 5.4% 18.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 9.3% 13.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 29.5% 30.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 52.0% 25.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% 305.8% 32.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 30.7% 34.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% 190.1% 33.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 28.8% 52.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% 151.0% 35.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 27.5% 54.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 11.9% 56.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 35.5% 42.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% -8.6% 75.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 29.3% 45.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATCEPLHWM
Gross margin 34.3% 34.0% 36.0%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 9.1% 30.7%
Operating margin 17.5% 4.4% 27.4%
Pretax margin 18.6% 3.4% 25.0%
Net margin 14.5% 3.5% 20.5%
FCF margin 12.0% 2.8% 19.6%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 4.3% 24.4%
Return on equity 57.0% – 33.3%
Return on assets 10.9% 3.1% 14.2%
Return on invested capital 15.9% – 19.4%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 12.2% 23.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.9x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATCEPLHWM
Debt / assets 44.0% 22.1% 34.0%
Debt / equity 2.3x -0.6x 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -0.7x 1.4x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 8.8x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 139.4% 56.7%
Equity / assets 18.9% -39.4% 43.3%
Interest coverage 6.8x 1.1x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.65 -10.48 8.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATCEPLHWM
Dividend yield 0.9% – 0.3%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 0.4% 1.3%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 0.4% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% – 10.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% – 10.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% – 30.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – 47.3%

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.

ConsensusCATCEPLHWM
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 – 37.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $-0.01FY2026 $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 – +37.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% – +31.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $115.36MFY2026 $10.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +25.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +28.2% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATCEPLHWM
Held by institutions 72.3% – 91.0%
Institutions holding 4,058 – 1,600
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% – +0.7%
Institutions buying 1,889 – 907
Institutions selling 1,595 – 484
Buyers to sellers 1.18 – 1.87

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.

CATCEPLHWM
CAT 1.00 0.46 0.43
CEPL 0.46 1.00 0.26
HWM 0.43 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, CEPL and HWM?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $304.94B, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) $103.08M, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) $82.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, CEPL and HWM?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 28.1x, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 28.8x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 44.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Caterpillar (CAT) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 27.7x, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 37.6x). 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: Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) +5.4%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +18.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 3.5%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 20.5%). On return on invested capital, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 19.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +36.2%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) -2.9%. Over five years, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) +45.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 0.00%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 0.00%. Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 112.5%, Howmet Aerospace (HWM) 35.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAT, CEPL and HWM?

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