CAT vs GATX vs TRN Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Gatx and Trinity Industries Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CAT Caterpillar Inc
$553.47 -35.9% 1M -2.8% 1Y
Market cap
$253.27B
P/E
21.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
1.13%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
GATX Gatx Corp
$186.49 +9.1% 1M +22.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.51B
P/E
17.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.21B
Div. yield
1.39%
Rail Equipment Industrials
4 wins
TRN Trinity Industries Inc
$30.53 +16.4% 1M +16.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.39B
P/E
7.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.12B
Div. yield
4.06%
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, Gatx 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATGATXTRNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $253.27B $6.51B $2.39B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.5x 17.0x 7.4x TRN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.5x 19.4x 14.3x TRN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.3% +29.7% -2.4% GATX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.2% 17.7% 15.4% GATX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.8% 1.7% 8.5% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 11.7x 5.0x CAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.13% 1.39% 4.06% TRN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.8% +22.0% +16.3% GATX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.9%/yr +12.3%/yr +0.4%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.1% 25.0% 37.9% GATX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 50/100 61/100 TRN

Percentile Scorecard

CATGATXTRN

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

AxisCATGATXTRN
Valuation 37 #129 of 204 41 #120 of 204 78 #45 of 204
Growth 73 #52 of 191 61 #76 of 191 75 #49 of 191
Profitability 92 #16 of 189 61 #75 of 189 64 #68 of 189
Financial Health 19 #180 of 221 3 #214 of 221 4 #213 of 221
Shareholder Returns 64 #58 of 159 85 #24 of 159 83 #28 of 159
Overall 57 50 61
  • CAT ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • GATX 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

PeriodCATGATXTRNSPY
1 month -35.9%+9.1%+16.4% -5.9%
3 months -35.4%+4.4%-1.5% -4.6%
6 months -38.2%+1.9%-16.7% +0.2%
Year to date -3.4%+10.0%+15.5% +7.5%
1 year -2.8%+22.0%+16.3% +8.2%
3 years +132.3%+72.6%+27.6% +68.3%
3 years, per year +32.5%+20.0%+8.5% +19.0%
5 years +168.8%+78.8%+1.8% +56.5%
5 years, per year +21.9%+12.3%+0.4% +9.4%
10 years +572.4%+317.8%+97.0% +251.5%
10 years, per year +21.0%+15.4%+7.0% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureCATGATXTRNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.1%25.0%37.9% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.3%25.4%36.0% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.770.560.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.070.880.43 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.0%-32.6%-43.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -48.0%-7.1%-19.8% -5.9%
52-week high $1,064.90$200.76$38.09 $779.14
52-week low $546.13$152.47$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.

MultipleCATGATXTRN
P/E now vs peer median 21.5xmedian 23.4x 17.0xmedian 23.4x 7.4xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.7x 2.9xmedian 1.7x 1.1xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.4xmedian 13.4x 18.3xmedian 13.4x 7.3xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 21.9x -1.5xmedian 21.9x -9.2xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 2.1x 1.8xmedian 2.1x 2.1xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.65median 1.02 0.98median 1.02 0.11median 1.02

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 monthsCATGATXTRN
Revenue $77.77B $2.21B $2.12B
Gross profit $27.05B – $521.30M
Operating income $14.25B – $731.90M
Net income $11.83B $400.70M $334.90M
Free cash flow $9.62B -$4.47B -$259.60M
R&D $2.31B – –
EPS (diluted) $25.67 $10.92 $4.03
Cash & equivalents $7.93B $390.00M $158.30M
Total debt $45.20B $11.94B $5.33B
Shares (diluted) 460.90M 35.80M 81.00M
Enterprise value $224.57B $4.64B $1.74B

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
MetricCATGATXTRN
P/E 21.5x 17.0x 7.4x
P/FCF 26.3x -1.5x -9.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.9x 7.5x 5.7x
P/S 3.3x 2.9x 1.1x
P/B 11.8x 1.8x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 12.0x 1.8x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.4x 18.3x 7.3x
EV/EBIT 20.4x 51.6x 10.3x
EV/Revenue 3.7x 8.2x 3.6x
EV/FCF 30.2x -4.0x -29.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.5x 20.9x 17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.65 0.98 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATGATXTRN
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.3% 29.7% -2.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.3% 17.4% -8.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.1% – -8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.2% – 3.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.9% – 71.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.4% – 24.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 27.6% 28.1% 177.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 18.4% 52.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.3% 25.7% 246.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 17.4% 65.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.9% 21.7% 7.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.9% 14.1% 15.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 27.2% -765.1% 33.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.5% -63.4% 19.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATGATXTRN
Gross margin 34.8% – 24.6%
EBITDA margin 21.4% 44.6% 48.8%
Operating margin 18.3% – 34.5%
Pretax margin 19.3% 15.8% 21.9%
Net margin 15.2% 17.7% 15.4%
FCF margin 12.4% -202.1% -12.2%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 39.1% 19.9%
Return on equity 57.9% 11.1% 29.4%
Return on assets 11.3% 2.3% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 16.8% 1.7% 8.5%
Return on capital employed 22.3% – –
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.1x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 2.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATGATXTRN
Debt / assets 42.3% 69.1% 63.8%
Debt / equity 2.1x 3.4x 4.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.2x 11.7x 5.0x
Debt / FCF 4.7x -2.7x -20.5x
Liabilities / assets 79.9% 79.5% 86.4%
Equity / assets 20.1% 20.5% 13.6%
Interest coverage 7.2x – –
Current ratio 1.4x – –
Quick ratio 0.5x – –
Cash ratio 0.2x – –
Altman Z-score 4.10 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATGATXTRN
Dividend yield 1.1% 1.4% 4.1%
Net buyback yield 3.2% 2.7% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 4.4% 4.1% 6.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 24.1% – 29.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 29.7% – -38.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.8% – 1.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.2% – 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.

ConsensusCATGATXTRN
Forward P/E 21.5xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 14.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.73FY2026 $9.63FY2026 $2.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.0%FY2026 +10.1%FY2026 -32.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.7% +25.3% -3.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $83.62BFY2026 $2.22BFY2026 $2.42BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.7%FY2026 +27.4%FY2026 +12.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.8% +16.2% +4.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATGATXTRN
Held by institutions 72.3% 100.0% 95.3%
Institutions holding 4,063 414 345
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +2.6% +6.3%
Institutions buying 1,892 180 171
Institutions selling 1,597 142 97
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.27 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.

CATGATXTRN
CAT 1.00 0.29 0.18
GATX 0.29 1.00 0.58
TRN 0.18 0.58 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, GATX and TRN?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $253.27B, Gatx (GATX) $6.51B, Trinity Industries (TRN) $2.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, GATX and TRN?

Trinity Industries (TRN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 21.5x, Gatx (GATX) 17.0x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 7.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Trinity Industries (TRN) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 21.5x, Gatx (GATX) 19.4x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 14.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Gatx (GATX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caterpillar (CAT) +20.3%, Gatx (GATX) +29.7%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -2.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gatx (GATX) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.2%, Gatx (GATX) 17.7%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 15.4%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 16.8%, Gatx (GATX) 1.7%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 8.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Gatx (GATX) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) -2.8%, Gatx (GATX) +22.0%, Trinity Industries (TRN) +16.3%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +21.9%/yr, Gatx (GATX) +12.3%/yr, Trinity Industries (TRN) +0.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 1.13%, Gatx (GATX) 1.39%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 4.06%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gatx (GATX) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 41.1%, Gatx (GATX) 25.0%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 37.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAT, GATX 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.