CAT vs GATX vs ALSN Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Gatx and Allison Transmission Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$714.23 -12.9% 1M +36.2% 1Y
Market cap
$304.32B
P/E
28.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins
GATX Gatx Corp
$168.94 -6.8% 1M +5.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.51B
P/E
17.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.05B
Div. yield
–
Rail Equipment Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCATGATXALSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $304.32B $6.51B $9.11B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 28.1x 17.7x 17.2x ALSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x 17.7x 14.2x ALSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +22.8% +37.6% ALSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 17.9% 12.0% GATX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 1.5% 10.7% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 13.1x 3.4x CAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.2% +5.6% +33.1% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.5%/yr +12.2%/yr +26.8%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.5% 23.6% 31.3% GATX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 49/100 57/100 ALSN

Percentile Scorecard

CATGATXALSN

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

AxisCATGATXALSN
Valuation 25 #153 of 203 46 #111 of 203 74 #53 of 203
Growth 70 #58 of 188 57 #81 of 188 41 #111 of 188
Profitability 93 #13 of 184 57 #80 of 184 89 #21 of 184
Financial Health 18 #179 of 217 3 #211 of 217 14 #186 of 217
Shareholder Returns 60 #62 of 153 84 #26 of 153 67 #51 of 153
Overall 53 49 57
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • GATX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ALSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATGATXALSNSPY
1 month -12.9%-6.8%-3.8% +0.9%
3 months -8.8%-7.1%-4.7% +5.9%
6 months -11.8%-12.8%-15.4% +8.5%
Year to date +24.7%-0.4%+11.6% +13.3%
1 year +36.2%+5.6%+33.1% +12.4%
3 years +199.4%+66.1%+110.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +44.2%+18.5%+28.2% +23.5%
5 years +250.1%+78.1%+227.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +28.5%+12.2%+26.8% +11.0%
10 years +751.5%+286.1%+272.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +23.9%+14.5%+14.1% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCATGATXALSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.5%23.6%31.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.1%25.1%30.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.850.601.06 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.890.241.06 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-32.6%-34.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.9%-15.8%-19.7% -0.9%
52-week high $1,064.90$200.76$136.00 $779.14
52-week low $524.47$152.11$79.27 $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.

MultipleCATGATXALSN
P/E now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 25.4x 16.4xmedian 25.4x 17.1xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 1.9x 2.9xmedian 1.9x 2.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 14.3x 19.8xmedian 14.3x 11.5xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.5xmedian 21.8x -1.3xmedian 21.8x 12.2xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 2.2x 4.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.33median 1.41 0.87median 1.41 -6.02median 1.41

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 monthsCATGATXALSN
Revenue $74.73B $2.05B $4.40B
Gross profit $25.66B – $1.60B
Operating income $13.09B – $861.00M
Net income $10.84B $375.70M $529.00M
Free cash flow $8.99B -$4.68B $737.00M
R&D $2.27B – $197.00M
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $10.28 $6.30
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $747.10M $399.00M
Total debt $45.15B $12.33B $4.14B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 35.80M 84.00M
Enterprise value $276.02B $3.58B $6.00B

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
MetricCATGATXALSN
P/E 30.3x 16.4x 17.1x
P/FCF 36.5x -1.3x 12.2x
P/Operating cash flow 24.2x 7.1x 9.6x
P/S 4.4x 2.9x 2.0x
P/B 16.9x 1.7x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 1.7x 24.3x
EV/EBITDA 23.7x 19.8x 11.5x
EV/EBIT 28.0x 57.0x 14.8x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 8.6x 2.9x
EV/FCF 40.8x -3.7x 17.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x 20.9x 13.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.33 0.87 -6.02

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATGATXALSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 22.8% 37.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 15.7% 14.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% – 3.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% – 4.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% – -13.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% – -0.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% 17.6% -30.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 19.9% -5.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% 15.5% -29.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 18.9% -2.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 28.6% 14.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 13.3% 7.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% -552.9% 12.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% -75.3% 6.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATGATXALSN
Gross margin 34.3% – 36.4%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 43.2% 25.1%
Operating margin 17.5% – 19.6%
Pretax margin 18.6% 15.0% 15.7%
Net margin 14.5% 17.9% 12.0%
FCF margin 12.0% -228.3% 16.7%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 40.8% 21.3%
Return on equity 57.0% 8.1% 27.3%
Return on assets 10.9% 1.6% 6.1%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 1.5% 10.7%
Return on capital employed 22.1% – 11.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.1x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 2.2x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – – 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATGATXALSN
Debt / assets 44.0% 69.6% 47.5%
Debt / equity 2.3x 3.4x 2.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 13.1x 3.4x
Debt / FCF 5.0x -2.6x 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 79.7% 77.3%
Equity / assets 18.9% 20.3% 22.7%
Interest coverage 6.8x – –
Current ratio 1.4x – 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.5x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 4.65 – 1.80

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATGATXALSN
Dividend yield 0.9% 1.5% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 2.2% 1.7% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 3.1% 3.2% 2.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% – –

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.

ConsensusCATGATXALSN
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 17.7xFY2026 14.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $9.52FY2026 $7.67FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +25.9% +45.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $2.22BFY2026 $6.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +27.4%FY2026 +109.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +17.1% +1.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATGATXALSN
Held by institutions 72.3% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 4,058 412 566
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +2.6% +1.1%
Institutions buying 1,889 180 258
Institutions selling 1,595 141 229
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.28 1.13

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.

CATGATXALSN
CAT 1.00 0.42 0.55
GATX 0.42 1.00 0.46
ALSN 0.55 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, GATX and ALSN?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $304.32B, Gatx (GATX) $6.51B, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) $9.11B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, GATX and ALSN?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 28.1x, Gatx (GATX) 17.7x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 17.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 27.7x, Gatx (GATX) 17.7x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 14.2x). 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%, Gatx (GATX) +22.8%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +37.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gatx (GATX) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Gatx (GATX) 17.9%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 12.0%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Gatx (GATX) 1.5%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 10.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +36.2%, Gatx (GATX) +5.6%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +33.1%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr, Gatx (GATX) +12.2%/yr, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +26.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Gatx (GATX) 0.00%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 0.00%. Gatx (GATX) and Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gatx (GATX) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Gatx (GATX) 23.6%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 31.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.