CAT vs CEPL vs PCAR Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Capstone Energy Plus and Paccar Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$647.25 -21.7% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$297.54B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
0.97%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
PCAR Paccar Inc
$102.29 -8.5% 1M +4.2% 1Y
Market cap
$53.86B
P/E
19.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$29.08B
Div. yield
2.70%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Paccar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Paccar 5, Caterpillar 4, Capstone Energy Plus 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATCEPLPCARLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $297.54B $90.18M $53.86B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.2x 26.6x 19.5x PCAR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x — 16.4x PCAR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.3% +5.4% -1.5% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 3.5% 9.5% PCAR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — -50.7% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.7x -0.1x CEPL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.97% — 2.70% PCAR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +10.5% — +4.2% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +26.0%/yr — +11.4%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.3% 112.7% 27.0% PCAR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 76/100 46/100 CEPL

Percentile Scorecard

CATCEPLPCAR

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

AxisCATCEPLPCAR
Valuation 29 #144 of 203 97 #3 of 62 53 #96 of 203
Growth 74 #49 of 188 93 #5 of 59 19 #153 of 188
Profitability 77 #43 of 183 85 #9 of 55 31 #127 of 183
Financial Health 8 #199 of 216 24 #55 of 72 56 #95 of 216
Shareholder Returns 31 #105 of 152 82 #6 of 29 69 #48 of 152
Overall 44 76 46
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CEPL ranked among 72 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • PCAR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATCEPLPCARSPY
1 month -21.7%-37.8%-8.5% +0.7%
3 months -20.0%-64.8%-23.5% +3.7%
6 months -27.3%—-13.9% +7.1%
Year to date +13.0%—-6.6% +12.8%
1 year +10.5%—+4.2% +11.9%
3 years +167.3%—+22.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +38.8%—+7.0% +22.8%
5 years +217.3%—+71.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +26.0%—+11.4% +10.9%
10 years +671.6%—+177.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +22.7%—+10.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCATCEPLPCARSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.3%112.7%27.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.5%122.0%24.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.883.760.89 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.26—0.15 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.2%-77.8%-30.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.2%-76.7%-26.0% -1.2%
52-week high $1,064.90$11.88$138.21 $779.14
52-week low $546.13$2.64$94.15 $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.

MultipleCATCEPLPCAR
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 25.8x 26.6xmedian 26.6x 19.5xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.9x 0.9xmedian 2.6x 1.9xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 8.9xmedian 18.9x -2.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 22.2x 31.4xmedian 30.1x 24.9xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 2.2x -2.0xmedian 1.9x 2.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.95median 1.45 0.97median 0.97 -1.56median 1.45

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 monthsCATCEPLPCAR
Revenue $77.77B $103.06M $29.08B
Gross profit – $35.07M $5.86B
Operating income $14.25B $4.53M -$20.02B
Net income $11.83B $3.56M $2.76B
Free cash flow – $2.87M $2.17B
R&D $2.31B $4.03M $438.50M
EPS (diluted) $25.58 $0.10 $5.23
Cash & equivalents $7.93B $32.30M $6.15B
Total debt – $109.19M $10.40B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 34.34M 527.70M
Enterprise value $297.54B $81.01M $16.72B

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
MetricCATCEPLPCAR
P/E 25.2x 26.6x 19.5x
P/FCF 42.3x 31.4x 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x 20.1x 14.7x
P/S 3.8x 0.9x 1.9x
P/B 13.9x -2.0x 2.6x
P/Tangible book 14.1x -1.8x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA – 8.9x -2.9x
EV/EBIT – 18.4x -2.7x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 0.8x 1.9x
EV/FCF – 29.0x 25.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 18.6x 15.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.95 0.97 -1.56

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATCEPLPCAR
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.3% 5.4% -1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 9.3% -5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 29.5% -4.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 52.0% -8.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.9% 305.8% 1.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 30.7% -10.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 27.6% 190.1% 2.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 28.8% -12.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.9% 151.0% 2.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 27.5% -12.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.9% 11.9% -22.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 35.5% -4.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -8.6% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 29.3% -10.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATCEPLPCAR
Gross margin – 34.0% 20.1%
EBITDA margin – 9.1% -65.9%
Operating margin – 4.4% -68.8%
Pretax margin – 3.4% 12.2%
Net margin – 3.5% 9.5%
FCF margin – 2.8% 7.4%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 4.3% 12.6%
Return on equity 57.9% – 13.4%
Return on assets 11.3% 3.1% 6.2%
Return on invested capital – – -50.7%
Return on capital employed – 12.2% -51.1%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.9x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATCEPLPCAR
Debt / assets – 22.1% 23.0%
Debt / equity – -0.6x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.7x -0.1x
Debt / FCF – 8.8x 4.8x
Liabilities / assets 79.9% 139.4% 53.6%
Equity / assets 20.1% -39.4% 46.4%
Interest coverage – 1.1x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.0x 2.8x
Quick ratio – 0.6x 2.2x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 1.7x
Altman Z-score – -10.51 1.41

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATCEPLPCAR
Dividend yield 1.0% – 2.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.4% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 0.4% 2.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusCATCEPLPCAR
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 – 16.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $-0.01FY2026 $6.23FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 – +24.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% – +20.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $115.36MFY2026 $26.76BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +28.2% +23.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATCEPLPCAR
Held by institutions 72.3% – 73.8%
Institutions holding 4,059 – 1,096
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% – +5.8%
Institutions buying 1,890 – 504
Institutions selling 1,595 – 406
Buyers to sellers 1.18 – 1.24

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.

CATCEPLPCAR
CAT 1.00 0.47 0.45
CEPL 0.47 1.00 -0.07
PCAR 0.45 -0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, CEPL and PCAR?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $297.54B, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) $90.18M, Paccar (PCAR) $53.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, CEPL and PCAR?

Paccar (PCAR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 25.2x, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 26.6x, Paccar (PCAR) 19.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Paccar (PCAR) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 25.1x, Paccar (PCAR) 16.4x). 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) +20.3%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) +5.4%, Paccar (PCAR) -1.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Paccar (PCAR) has the highest net margin (Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 3.5%, Paccar (PCAR) 9.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +10.5%, Paccar (PCAR) +4.2%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +26.0%/yr, Paccar (PCAR) +11.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Paccar (PCAR) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.97%, Paccar (PCAR) 2.70%. Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Paccar (PCAR) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.3%, Capstone Energy Plus (CEPL) 112.7%, Paccar (PCAR) 27.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Paccar (PCAR) leads on 5. 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.