CAT vs TSLA Stock Comparison

Caterpillar and Tesla Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$686.82 -15.5% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$318.29B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
8 wins
TSLA Tesla, Inc.
$372.22 -2.1% 1M -17.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.27T
P/E
333.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$103.62B
Div. yield
–
Auto Manufacturers Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 8, Tesla 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATTSLALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $318.29B $1.27T TSLA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.4x 333.1x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.6x 231.2x CAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +11.8% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 3.7% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 3.4% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -3.2x TSLA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.0% -17.1% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.9%/yr +4.2%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 45.6% CAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 51/100 TSLA

Percentile Scorecard

CATTSLA

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

AxisCATTSLA
Valuation 22 #159 of 203 16 #42 of 50
Growth 68 #61 of 188 48 #26 of 49
Profitability 91 #17 of 187 77 #12 of 48
Financial Health 16 #186 of 222 94 #4 of 54
Shareholder Returns 53 #72 of 153 20 #25 of 31
Overall 50 51
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • TSLA ranked among 56 companies in Automobiles and Components

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATTSLASPY
1 month -15.5%-2.1% -1.0%
3 months -22.7%+18.9% +2.9%
6 months -17.3%-1.1% +6.4%
Year to date +19.9%-17.2% +11.4%
1 year +32.0%-17.1% +13.1%
3 years +175.2%+71.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +40.2%+19.8% +21.5%
5 years +242.3%+22.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +27.9%+4.2% +10.9%
10 years +695.6%+2,690.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +23.0%+39.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCATTSLASPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%45.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%48.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.832.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.79-0.37 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-73.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.5%-24.0% -2.5%
52-week high $1,064.90$489.88 $779.14
52-week low $520.50$298.32 $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.

MultipleCATTSLA
P/E now vs peer median 29.2xmedian 25.9x 316.7xmedian 18.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.9x 11.6xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 13.7x 107.9xmedian 8.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.1xmedian 21.1x 209.1xmedian 8.8x
P/B now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 2.3x 13.8xmedian 0.9x
PEG now vs peer median 2.24median 1.19 -9.72median 1.35

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 monthsCATTSLA
Revenue $74.73B $103.62B
Gross profit $25.66B $19.53B
Operating income $13.09B $4.37B
Net income $10.84B $3.86B
Free cash flow $8.99B $5.76B
R&D $2.27B $7.73B
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $1.07
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $15.22B
Total debt $173.08B $9.34B
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 3.54B
Enterprise value $289.99B $1.09T

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
MetricCATTSLA
P/E 29.2x 316.7x
P/FCF 35.1x 209.1x
P/Operating cash flow 23.3x 64.5x
P/S 4.2x 11.6x
P/B 16.3x 13.8x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 13.9x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 107.9x
EV/EBIT 27.1x 267.8x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 11.3x
EV/FCF 39.4x 203.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 62.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.24 -9.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATTSLA
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 3.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 20.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% -1.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% -22.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% -29.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% -35.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% -32.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% -35.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% -32.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 18.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 10.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% 3.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% -2.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATTSLA
Gross margin 34.3% 18.9%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 10.5%
Operating margin 17.5% 4.2%
Pretax margin 18.6% 5.0%
Net margin 14.5% 3.7%
FCF margin 12.0% 5.6%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 18.0%
Return on equity 57.0% 4.5%
Return on assets 10.9% 2.6%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 3.4%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 3.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 4.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 3.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATTSLA
Debt / assets 44.0% 6.3%
Debt / equity 2.3x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x -3.2x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 41.1%
Equity / assets 18.9% 58.9%
Interest coverage 6.8x 13.1x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.9x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 4.55 13.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATTSLA
Dividend yield 0.7% –
Net buyback yield 2.3% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 3.0% -0.1%
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.

ConsensusCATTSLA
Forward P/E 26.6xFY2026 231.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $1.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 -3.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +46.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $112.51BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +18.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +14.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATTSLA
Held by institutions 72.3% 42.6%
Institutions holding 4,055 4,260
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +7.4%
Institutions buying 1,886 2,372
Institutions selling 1,595 1,356
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.75

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.

CATTSLA
CAT 1.00 0.35
TSLA 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT and TSLA?

Tesla (TSLA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $318.29B, Tesla (TSLA) $1.27T.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT and TSLA?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 29.4x, Tesla (TSLA) 333.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Caterpillar (CAT) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 26.6x, Tesla (TSLA) 231.2x). 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%, Tesla (TSLA) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Tesla (TSLA) 3.7%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Tesla (TSLA) 3.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%, Tesla (TSLA) -17.1%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +27.9%/yr, Tesla (TSLA) +4.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Tesla (TSLA) 0.00%. Tesla (TSLA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Caterpillar (CAT) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.4%, Tesla (TSLA) 45.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CAT and TSLA move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.35, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CAT and TSLA?

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 8. 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.