CAT vs CMI vs TRN Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Cummins and Trinity Industries Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CAT Caterpillar Inc
$623.86 -26.2% 1M +9.3% 1Y
Market cap
$271.70B
P/E
25.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
CMI Cummins Inc
$500.55 -5.3% 1M +14.4% 1Y
Market cap
$65.25B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.71B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
TRN Trinity Industries Inc
$29.88 +14.4% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.53B
P/E
7.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.12B
Div. yield
0.04%
Rail Equipment Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionCATCMITRNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $271.70B $65.25B $2.53B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.1x 24.0x 7.7x TRN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.2x 15.9x 14.4x TRN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +2.9% -2.4% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 7.8% 15.4% TRN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 13.6% 8.5% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 0.7x 5.0x CMI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.04% TRN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.3% +14.4% +12.2% CMI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.1%/yr +16.3%/yr +0.7%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.6% 36.8% 37.1% CMI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 62/100 61/100 CMI

Percentile Scorecard

CATCMITRN

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

AxisCATCMITRN
Valuation 32 #140 of 204 58 #86 of 204 77 #47 of 204
Growth 70 #58 of 191 54 #89 of 191 75 #49 of 191
Profitability 93 #14 of 189 71 #55 of 189 64 #68 of 189
Financial Health 17 #183 of 221 53 #105 of 221 4 #213 of 221
Shareholder Returns 61 #63 of 158 75 #41 of 158 83 #28 of 158
Overall 54 62 61
  • CAT ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • CMI ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • TRN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATCMITRNSPY
1 month -26.2%-5.3%+14.4% -2.0%
3 months -28.8%-21.3%-6.8% -2.2%
6 months -31.0%-25.8%-16.7% +4.2%
Year to date +8.9%-1.9%+13.0% +10.6%
1 year +9.3%+14.4%+12.2% +10.4%
3 years +159.1%+121.6%+24.5% +73.6%
3 years, per year +37.4%+30.4%+7.6% +20.2%
5 years +206.4%+112.9%+3.5% +61.6%
5 years, per year +25.1%+16.3%+0.7% +10.1%
10 years +667.6%+311.1%+96.8% +261.3%
10 years, per year +22.6%+15.2%+7.0% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCATCMITRNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.6%36.8%37.1% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.1%38.6%35.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.911.660.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.230.390.33 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.4%-31.3%-43.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.4%-31.2%-21.6% -3.2%
52-week high $1,064.90$727.59$38.09 $779.14
52-week low $546.13$428.74$24.82 $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.

MultipleCATCMITRN
P/E now vs peer median 26.5xmedian 25.4x 25.4xmedian 25.4x 7.3xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.9x 2.0xmedian 1.9x 1.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.0xmedian 14.5x 14.4xmedian 14.5x 7.2xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.9xmedian 23.6x 20.5xmedian 23.6x -9.0xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 2.2x 5.0xmedian 2.2x 2.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.03median 1.21 7.93median 1.21 0.11median 1.21

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 monthsCATCMITRN
Revenue $74.73B $34.71B $2.12B
Gross profit $25.66B $8.79B $521.30M
Operating income $13.09B $3.89B $731.90M
Net income $10.84B $2.83B $334.90M
Free cash flow $8.99B $3.37B -$259.60M
R&D $2.27B $1.44B –
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $19.60 $4.03
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $3.18B $158.30M
Total debt $45.15B $7.35B $5.33B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 138.50M 81.00M
Enterprise value $243.40B $61.33B $1.88B

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
MetricCATCMITRN
P/E 26.5x 25.4x 7.3x
P/FCF 31.9x 20.5x -9.0x
P/Operating cash flow 21.1x 14.8x 5.5x
P/S 3.8x 2.0x 1.1x
P/B 14.8x 5.0x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 15.1x 5.9x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 21.0x 14.4x 7.2x
EV/EBIT 24.8x 18.6x 10.3x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 2.1x 3.5x
EV/FCF 36.2x 21.5x -28.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.0x 15.6x 17.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.03 7.93 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATCMITRN
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 2.9% -2.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 2.5% -8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 1.7% -8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 4.8% 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% -6.0% 71.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 4.1% 24.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% -7.8% 177.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 2.9% 52.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% -7.7% 246.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 3.2% 65.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 63.4% 7.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 28.8% 15.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% 103.8% 33.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 45.3% 19.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATCMITRN
Gross margin 34.3% 25.3% 24.6%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 14.4% 48.8%
Operating margin 17.5% 11.2% 34.5%
Pretax margin 18.6% 11.1% 21.9%
Net margin 14.5% 7.8% 15.4%
FCF margin 12.0% 9.7% -12.2%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 13.4% 19.9%
Return on equity 57.0% 20.7% 29.4%
Return on assets 10.9% 8.1% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 13.6% 8.5%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 16.0% –
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATCMITRN
Debt / assets 44.0% 20.6% 63.8%
Debt / equity 2.3x 0.5x 4.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 0.7x 5.0x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 2.2x -20.5x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 61.0% 86.4%
Equity / assets 18.9% 39.0% 13.6%
Interest coverage 6.8x 12.1x –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.7x –
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x –
Altman Z-score 4.35 4.43 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATCMITRN
Dividend yield 1.0% 1.6% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 2.5% 0.7% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 3.6% 2.3% 6.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% – 29.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% – -38.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% – 1.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – 6.1%

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.

ConsensusCATCMITRN
Forward P/E 24.2xFY2026 15.9xFY2026 14.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $31.39FY2026 $2.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 +31.9%FY2026 -33.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +14.7% -1.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $35.38BFY2026 $2.34BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +11.3% +4.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATCMITRN
Held by institutions 72.3% 85.4% 95.3%
Institutions holding 4,062 2,108 345
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +1.0% +6.3%
Institutions buying 1,891 1,050 171
Institutions selling 1,597 729 97
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.44 1.76

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.

CATCMITRN
CAT 1.00 0.77 0.19
CMI 0.77 1.00 0.16
TRN 0.19 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, CMI and TRN?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $271.70B, Cummins (CMI) $65.25B, Trinity Industries (TRN) $2.53B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, CMI and TRN?

Trinity Industries (TRN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 25.1x, Cummins (CMI) 24.0x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 7.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Trinity Industries (TRN) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 24.2x, Cummins (CMI) 15.9x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 14.4x). 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) +18.4%, Cummins (CMI) +2.9%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -2.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Cummins (CMI) 7.8%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Cummins (CMI) 13.6%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 8.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cummins (CMI) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +9.3%, Cummins (CMI) +14.4%, Trinity Industries (TRN) +12.2%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +25.1%/yr, Cummins (CMI) +16.3%/yr, Trinity Industries (TRN) +0.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Cummins (CMI) 0.00%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 0.04%. Cummins (CMI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cummins (CMI) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.6%, Cummins (CMI) 36.8%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 37.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 4. 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.