CAT vs TRN vs WAB Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Trinity Industries and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$691.78 -15.8% 1M +32.3% 1Y
Market cap
$326.23B
P/E
30.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins
TRN Trinity Industries Inc
$25.74 -7.7% 1M -8.9% 1Y
Market cap
$2.02B
P/E
5.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.04B
Div. yield
0.05%
Rail Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 5, Trinity Industries 5, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATTRNWABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $326.23B $2.02B $47.15B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 30.1x 5.9x 34.5x TRN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.8x 12.4x 23.9x TRN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% -18.9% +13.2% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 16.6% — TRN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 8.8% — CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 4.8x — CAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.05% 0.00% TRN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.3% -8.9% +40.6% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +28.7%/yr -1.7%/yr +25.6%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.5% 35.4% 26.3% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 61/100 45/100 TRN

Percentile Scorecard

CATTRNWAB

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

AxisCATTRNWAB
Valuation 22 #159 of 203 78 #45 of 203 34 #135 of 203
Growth 68 #60 of 187 72 #54 of 187 89 #22 of 187
Profitability 92 #16 of 185 65 #65 of 185 56 #82 of 185
Financial Health 17 #183 of 219 4 #211 of 219 28 #159 of 219
Shareholder Returns 56 #68 of 153 84 #25 of 153 20 #123 of 153
Overall 51 61 45
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • TRN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATTRNWABSPY
1 month -15.8%-7.7%-3.6% -0.8%
3 months -20.8%-30.6%-7.7% +3.5%
6 months -16.5%-18.5%+3.9% +7.0%
Year to date +20.8%-2.6%+30.1% +12.2%
1 year +32.3%-8.9%+40.6% +13.0%
3 years +190.0%+26.9%+167.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +42.6%+8.3%+38.8% +23.1%
5 years +252.7%-8.0%+212.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +28.7%-1.7%+25.6% +11.0%
10 years +722.3%+60.4%+260.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +23.5%+4.8%+13.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCATTRNWABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.5%35.4%26.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%35.7%24.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.850.540.99 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.80-0.251.54 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-43.0%-23.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.0%-32.4%-9.2% -1.8%
52-week high $1,064.90$38.09$305.87 $779.14
52-week low $524.47$24.82$196.14 $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.

MultipleCATTRNWAB
P/E now vs peer median 29.4xmedian 26.0x 6.0xmedian 26.0x 34.3xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.0xmedian 14.0x 6.7xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.4xmedian 21.4x -6.0xmedian 21.4x 28.7xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 2.2x 1.8xmedian 2.2x 4.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.25median 1.26 0.09median 1.26 1.43median 1.26

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 monthsCATTRNWAB
Revenue $74.73B $2.04B $12.21B
Gross profit $25.66B $535.90M $4.35B
Operating income $13.09B $754.90M $2.10B
Net income $10.84B $353.30M –
Free cash flow $8.99B -$342.20M –
R&D $2.27B – $261.00M
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $4.16 $8.07
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $155.70M $489.00M
Total debt $45.15B $5.23B –
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 81.60M 169.60M
Enterprise value $297.92B $1.46B $47.15B

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
MetricCATTRNWAB
P/E 29.4x 6.0x 34.3x
P/FCF 35.4x -6.0x 28.7x
P/Operating cash flow 23.4x 5.2x 22.5x
P/S 4.3x 1.0x 3.8x
P/B 16.4x 1.8x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 16.8x 1.8x 6.4x
EV/EBITDA 23.0x 6.7x –
EV/EBIT 27.2x 9.4x –
EV/Revenue 4.8x 3.5x 3.8x
EV/FCF 39.6x -20.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 26.3x 17.9x 22.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.25 0.09 1.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATTRNWAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% -18.9% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% -5.9% 8.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% -10.7% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 7.9% 15.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% 75.7% 18.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 26.3% 20.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% 193.4% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 53.6% –
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% 257.3% 17.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 64.1% 24.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% -7.6% 40.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 25.6% 31.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% -48.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 23.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATTRNWAB
Gross margin 34.3% 26.2% –
EBITDA margin 20.7% 52.1% –
Operating margin 17.5% 37.0% –
Pretax margin 18.6% 23.6% –
Net margin 14.5% 16.6% –
FCF margin 12.0% -16.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 19.5% 17.1%
Return on equity 57.0% 30.8% 12.2%
Return on assets 10.9% 4.3% 5.9%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 8.8% –
Return on capital employed 22.1% – –
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue – 1.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATTRNWAB
Debt / assets 44.0% 63.5% –
Debt / equity 2.3x 4.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 4.8x –
Debt / FCF 5.0x -15.3x –
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 86.1% 50.9%
Equity / assets 18.9% 13.9% 49.1%
Interest coverage 6.8x – –
Current ratio 1.4x – 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x – –
Cash ratio 0.2x – –
Altman Z-score 4.57 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATTRNWAB
Dividend yield 0.9% 4.8% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 2.6% –
Shareholder yield 3.2% 7.4% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% 28.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% -28.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% 2.5% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 6.9% –

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.

ConsensusCATTRNWAB
Forward P/E 26.8xFY2026 12.4xFY2026 23.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $2.08FY2026 $11.63FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 -33.8%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% -1.9% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $2.34BFY2026 $12.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +4.3% -2.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATTRNWAB
Held by institutions 72.3% 95.3% 92.6%
Institutions holding 4,055 343 1,195
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +6.3% +0.2%
Institutions buying 1,886 171 553
Institutions selling 1,595 95 409
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.80 1.35

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.

CATTRNWAB
CAT 1.00 0.28 0.66
TRN 0.28 1.00 0.35
WAB 0.66 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, TRN and WAB?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $326.23B, Trinity Industries (TRN) $2.02B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $47.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, TRN and WAB?

Trinity Industries (TRN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 30.1x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 5.9x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 34.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Trinity Industries (TRN) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 26.8x, Trinity Industries (TRN) 12.4x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 23.9x). 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%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -18.9%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 16.6%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 8.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +32.3%, Trinity Industries (TRN) -8.9%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +40.6%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +28.7%/yr, Trinity Industries (TRN) -1.7%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +25.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Trinity Industries (TRN) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 0.05%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.00%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%, Trinity Industries (TRN) 35.4%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.