CAT vs HYLN vs WAVE Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Hyliion Holdings and Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$713.64 -13.1% 1M +35.4% 1Y
Market cap
$328.06B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.88%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
4 wins
HYLN Hyliion Holdings Corp.
$3.29 -22.0% 1M +48.2% 1Y
Market cap
$587.58M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$9.25M
Div. yield
–
Power Equipment Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 4, Hyliion Holdings 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATHYLNWAVELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $328.06B $587.58M $204.62M CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.3x -11.2x -58.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.7x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +163.2% — HYLN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% -564.3% — CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.88% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +35.4% +48.2% -42.4% HYLN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.5%/yr -16.4%/yr -7.9%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.5% 99.0% 70.6% CAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 57/100 33/100 HYLN

Percentile Scorecard

CATHYLNWAVE

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

AxisCATHYLNWAVE
Valuation 21 #160 of 203 33 #41 of 61 0 #24 of 24
Growth 67 #63 of 188 88 #8 of 58 36 #15 of 23
Profitability 92 #15 of 183 13 #48 of 55 5 #22 of 23
Financial Health 17 #180 of 217 93 #6 of 71 91 #3 of 24
Shareholder Returns 56 #68 of 153 – –
Overall 51 57 33
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • HYLN ranked among 71 companies in Clean Energy Equipment
  • WAVE ranked among 24 companies in Power Generation

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATHYLNWAVESPY
1 month -13.1%-22.0%-27.6% -0.2%
3 months -15.2%-7.1%-40.6% +3.9%
6 months -12.7%+81.8%-41.4% +8.2%
Year to date +24.6%+78.8%-25.0% +12.9%
1 year +35.4%+48.2%-42.4% +12.3%
3 years +199.1%+483.2%+86.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +44.1%+80.1%+23.1% +23.3%
5 years +249.7%-59.1%-33.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year +28.5%-16.4%-7.9% +10.9%
10 years +759.7%—— +261.1%
10 years, per year +24.0%—— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCATHYLNWAVESPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.5%99.0%70.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%92.7%63.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.853.171.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.870.49-0.60 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-94.0%-86.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -33.0%-59.4%-55.8% -1.2%
52-week high $1,064.90$8.10$9.92 $779.14
52-week low $524.47$1.58$4.38 $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.

MultipleCATHYLNWAVE
P/E now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 25.2x -11.2xmedian 27.2x -58.6xmedian 25.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 1.9x 63.5xmedian 2.4x —median 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.7xmedian 14.0x -10.3xmedian 18.4x —median 11.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.5xmedian 21.7x -10.4xmedian 28.6x —median 13.6x
P/B now vs peer median 16.9xmedian 2.3x 3.5xmedian 1.7x 26.7xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 2.32median 1.32 -0.37median 0.79 —median 0.60

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 monthsCATHYLNWAVE
Revenue $74.73B $9.25M –
Gross profit $25.66B $603.00K –
Operating income $13.09B -$58.73M -$3.00M
Net income $10.84B -$52.19M -$3.50M
Free cash flow $8.99B -$56.62M –
R&D $2.27B $37.27M $747.00K
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $-0.29 –
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $13.20M $8.15M
Total debt $45.15B – $4.83M
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 178.44M –
Enterprise value $299.76B $253.48M $177.37M

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
MetricCATHYLNWAVE
P/E 30.3x -11.2x -58.6x
P/FCF 36.5x -10.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 24.2x -13.9x –
P/S 4.4x 63.5x –
P/B 16.9x 3.5x 26.7x
P/Tangible book 17.3x 3.5x 26.7x
EV/EBITDA 23.7x -10.3x –
EV/EBIT 28.0x -8.9x -66.0x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 56.6x –
EV/FCF 40.7x -9.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 27.0x -12.4x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.32 -0.37 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATHYLNWAVE
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 163.2% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 62.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 154.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 29.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% 11.9% -16.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 29.6% -1.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% 7.3% -17.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 30.7% -14.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% 8.9% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 30.4% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 10.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 30.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% 16.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 24.4% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATHYLNWAVE
Gross margin 34.3% 6.5% –
EBITDA margin 20.7% -551.3% –
Operating margin 17.5% -635.2% –
Pretax margin 18.6% -564.5% –
Net margin 14.5% -564.3% –
FCF margin 12.0% -612.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% -458.2% –
Return on equity 57.0% -29.7% -56.2%
Return on assets 10.9% -28.2% -40.5%
Return on invested capital 15.9% – –
Return on capital employed 22.1% -33.4% -48.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.0x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 0.8x –
Stock comp / revenue – 64.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATHYLNWAVE
Debt / assets 44.0% – 12.0%
Debt / equity 2.3x – 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x – –
Debt / FCF 5.0x – –
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 5.6% 24.5%
Equity / assets 18.9% 94.4% 75.5%
Interest coverage 6.8x – -2.9x
Current ratio 1.4x 7.6x 3.5x
Quick ratio 0.5x 7.1x 3.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 6.8x 3.3x
Altman Z-score 4.64 32.65 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATHYLNWAVE
Dividend yield 0.9% – –
Net buyback yield 2.2% – –
Shareholder yield 3.1% – –
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.

ConsensusCATHYLNWAVE
Forward P/E 27.7xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $-0.32FY2026 $-0.74FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $14.80MFY2026 $179.29KFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +325.2%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +127.8% +35.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATHYLNWAVE
Held by institutions 72.3% 33.4% 1.2%
Institutions holding 4,057 168 22
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +19.5% +520.8%
Institutions buying 1,888 106 14
Institutions selling 1,595 38 2
Buyers to sellers 1.18 2.79 7.00

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.

CATHYLNWAVE
CAT 1.00 0.41 0.12
HYLN 0.41 1.00 0.00
WAVE 0.12 0.00 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, HYLN and WAVE?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $328.06B, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) $587.58M, Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (WAVE) $204.62M.

Which company is growing faster?

Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) +163.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) -564.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +35.4%, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) +48.2%, Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (WAVE) -42.4%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) -16.4%/yr, Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (WAVE) -7.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.88%. Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) and Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (WAVE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Caterpillar (CAT) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Hyliion Holdings (HYLN) 99.0%, Eco Wave Power Global AB (publ) (WAVE) 70.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAT, HYLN and WAVE?

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.