CAT vs CMI vs GE Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Cummins and General Electric Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CAT Caterpillar Inc
$647.25 -21.7% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$291.88B
P/E
24.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
2 wins
CMI Cummins Inc
$517.69 -0.7% 1M +17.3% 1Y
Market cap
$70.19B
P/E
25.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.71B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
GE General Electric Co
$313.11 -1.6% 1M -0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$315.51B
P/E
34.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$52.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCATCMIGELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $291.88B $70.19B $315.51B GE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.7x 25.9x 34.7x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.1x 16.5x 41.3x CMI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.3% +2.9% +19.6% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 7.8% 17.3% GE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 13.6% -38.7% CMI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.7x -0.7x GE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +10.5% +17.3% -0.4% CMI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +26.0%/yr +16.6%/yr +36.8%/yr GE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.3% 36.7% 33.4% GE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 44/100 61/100 46/100 CMI

Percentile Scorecard

CATCMIGE

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

AxisCATCMIGE
Valuation 29 #144 of 203 53 #97 of 203 33 #67 of 100
Growth 74 #49 of 188 54 #88 of 188 33 #65 of 96
Profitability 77 #43 of 183 73 #51 of 183 57 #41 of 95
Financial Health 8 #199 of 216 52 #104 of 216 20 #84 of 105
Shareholder Returns 31 #105 of 152 73 #42 of 152 84 #11 of 65
Overall 44 61 46
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CMI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • GE 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

PeriodCATCMIGESPY
1 month -21.7%-0.7%-1.6% +0.7%
3 months -20.0%-18.2%-11.8% +3.7%
6 months -27.3%-22.8%+8.0% +7.1%
Year to date +13.0%+1.4%+1.6% +12.8%
1 year +10.5%+17.3%-0.4% +11.9%
3 years +167.3%+137.8%+257.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +38.8%+33.5%+52.9% +22.8%
5 years +217.3%+115.8%+379.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +26.0%+16.6%+36.8% +10.9%
10 years +671.6%+308.9%+123.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +22.7%+15.1%+8.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCATCMIGESPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.3%36.7%33.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.5%38.1%35.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.881.651.20 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.260.47-0.01 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.2%-30.8%-45.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.2%-28.8%-17.8% -1.2%
52-week high $1,064.90$727.59$381.07 $779.14
52-week low $546.13$428.74$273.25 $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.

MultipleCATCMIGE
P/E now vs peer median 25.2xmedian 25.8x 26.3xmedian 25.8x 35.6xmedian 26.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.9x 2.1xmedian 1.9x 6.2xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.6x 14.9xmedian 14.6x -21.8xmedian 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.3xmedian 22.2x 21.2xmedian 22.2x 40.5xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 2.2x 5.1xmedian 2.2x 18.2xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.95median 1.45 8.20median 1.45 -124.64median 0.93

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 monthsCATCMIGE
Revenue $77.77B $34.71B $52.58B
Gross profit – $8.79B $18.52B
Operating income $14.25B $3.89B -$16.58B
Net income $11.83B $2.83B $9.13B
Free cash flow – $3.37B $7.99B
R&D $2.31B $1.44B $1.81B
EPS (diluted) $25.58 $19.60 $8.74
Cash & equivalents $7.93B $3.18B $8.76B
Total debt – $7.35B $19.33B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 138.50M 1.04B
Enterprise value $291.88B $66.27B $274.03B

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
MetricCATCMIGE
P/E 25.2x 26.3x 35.6x
P/FCF 42.3x 21.2x 40.5x
P/Operating cash flow 21.0x 15.3x 34.3x
P/S 3.8x 2.1x 6.2x
P/B 13.9x 5.1x 18.2x
P/Tangible book 14.1x 6.1x 23.6x
EV/EBITDA – 14.9x -21.8x
EV/EBIT – 19.2x -20.2x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 2.2x 6.4x
EV/FCF – 22.2x 41.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.0x 16.1x 35.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.95 8.20 -124.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATCMIGE
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.3% 2.9% 19.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 2.5% 7.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 1.7% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.8% 10.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.9% -6.0% 13.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 4.1% -98.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 27.6% -7.8% 13.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 2.9% -3.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.9% -7.7% 15.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 3.2% -0.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.9% 63.4% 21.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 28.8% 6.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 103.8% 20.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 45.3% 2.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATCMIGE
Gross margin – 25.3% 35.2%
EBITDA margin – 14.4% -29.1%
Operating margin – 11.2% -31.5%
Pretax margin – 11.1% 20.3%
Net margin – 7.8% 17.3%
FCF margin – 9.7% 15.2%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 13.4% 17.9%
Return on equity 57.9% 20.7% 51.2%
Return on assets 11.3% 8.1% 7.2%
Return on invested capital – 13.6% -38.7%
Return on capital employed – 16.0% -19.5%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.6x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATCMIGE
Debt / assets – 20.6% 15.2%
Debt / equity – 0.5x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.7x -0.7x
Debt / FCF – 2.2x 2.4x
Liabilities / assets 79.9% 61.0% 86.0%
Equity / assets 20.1% 39.0% 14.0%
Interest coverage – 12.1x -17.9x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.7x 1.0x
Quick ratio – 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio – 0.4x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 4.49 2.77

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATCMIGE
Dividend yield 1.0% 1.6% 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% 2.6%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 2.2% 3.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 19.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 21.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 26.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 36.5%

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.

ConsensusCATCMIGE
Forward P/E 25.1xFY2026 16.5xFY2026 41.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $31.39FY2026 $7.59FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 +31.9%FY2026 +19.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +14.7% +28.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $35.38BFY2026 $54.10BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +27.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +11.3% +11.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATCMIGE
Held by institutions 72.3% 85.4% 79.4%
Institutions holding 4,059 2,107 3,444
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +1.0% +1.5%
Institutions buying 1,890 1,050 1,831
Institutions selling 1,595 728 1,149
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.44 1.59

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.

CATCMIGE
CAT 1.00 0.77 0.40
CMI 0.77 1.00 0.42
GE 0.40 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, CMI and GE?

General Electric (GE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $291.88B, Cummins (CMI) $70.19B, General Electric (GE) $315.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, CMI and GE?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 24.7x, Cummins (CMI) 25.9x, General Electric (GE) 34.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cummins (CMI) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 25.1x, Cummins (CMI) 16.5x, General Electric (GE) 41.3x). 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%, Cummins (CMI) +2.9%, General Electric (GE) +19.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

General Electric (GE) has the highest net margin (Cummins (CMI) 7.8%, General Electric (GE) 17.3%). On return on invested capital, Cummins (CMI) leads (Cummins (CMI) 13.6%, General Electric (GE) -38.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cummins (CMI) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +10.5%, Cummins (CMI) +17.3%, General Electric (GE) -0.4%. Over five years, General Electric (GE) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +26.0%/yr, Cummins (CMI) +16.6%/yr, General Electric (GE) +36.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.00%, Cummins (CMI) 0.00%, General Electric (GE) 0.01%. Caterpillar (CAT) and Cummins (CMI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Electric (GE) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.3%, Cummins (CMI) 36.7%, General Electric (GE) 33.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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