CAT vs WAB vs ITT Stock Comparison

Caterpillar, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies and Itt 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
6 wins
ITT Itt Inc.
$190.10 -10.3% 1M +8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$17.06B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.74B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 6, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies 4, Itt 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCATWABITTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $318.29B $46.97B $17.06B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 29.4x 37.0x 40.5x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.6x 23.6x 23.9x WAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.4% +13.4% +28.1% ITT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 10.6% 8.9% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 8.3% 8.8% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 2.4x 0.3x ITT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.01% CAT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +32.0% +38.2% +8.3% WAB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +27.9%/yr +24.1%/yr +15.1%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 26.2% 32.9% WAB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 59/100 52/100 WAB

Percentile Scorecard

CATWABITT

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

AxisCATWABITT
Valuation 22 #159 of 203 34 #134 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 68 #61 of 188 86 #28 of 188 60 #75 of 188
Profitability 91 #17 of 187 67 #62 of 187 58 #79 of 187
Financial Health 16 #186 of 222 29 #159 of 222 52 #107 of 222
Shareholder Returns 53 #72 of 153 78 #35 of 153 61 #60 of 153
Overall 50 59 52
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WAB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCATWABITTSPY
1 month -15.5%-6.9%-10.3% -1.0%
3 months -22.7%-10.0%-2.9% +2.9%
6 months -17.3%+1.9%-13.0% +6.4%
Year to date +19.9%+27.5%+9.6% +11.4%
1 year +32.0%+38.2%+8.3% +13.1%
3 years +175.2%+172.4%+101.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +40.2%+39.7%+26.4% +21.5%
5 years +242.3%+194.6%+101.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +27.9%+24.1%+15.1% +10.9%
10 years +695.6%+229.9%+464.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +23.0%+12.7%+18.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCATWABITTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%26.2%32.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.9%24.1%32.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.830.981.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.791.460.25 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.5%-23.7%-38.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.5%-11.0%-14.2% -2.5%
52-week high $1,064.90$305.87$221.69 $779.14
52-week low $520.50$196.14$169.49 $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.

MultipleCATWABITT
P/E now vs peer median 29.2xmedian 25.9x 36.3xmedian 25.9x 40.3xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.9xmedian 13.7x 20.7xmedian 13.7x 19.2xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 35.1xmedian 21.1x 26.9xmedian 21.1x 33.4xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 16.3xmedian 2.3x 4.1xmedian 2.3x 3.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.24median 1.19 1.42median 1.19 -13.11median 1.19

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 monthsCATWABITT
Revenue $74.73B $11.98B $4.74B
Gross profit $25.66B $4.19B $1.67B
Operating income $13.09B $1.96B $680.00M
Net income $10.84B $1.28B $421.50M
Free cash flow $8.99B $1.71B $509.50M
R&D $2.27B $253.00M $123.80M
EPS (diluted) $23.45 $7.48 $4.69
Cash & equivalents $6.71B $670.00M $590.80M
Total debt $173.08B $6.57B $858.40M
Shares (diluted) 462.50M 169.60M 89.80M
Enterprise value $289.99B $44.45B $13.61B

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
MetricCATWABITT
P/E 29.2x 36.3x 40.3x
P/FCF 35.1x 26.9x 33.4x
P/Operating cash flow 23.3x 23.0x 26.9x
P/S 4.2x 3.8x 3.6x
P/B 16.3x 4.1x 3.5x
P/Tangible book 16.6x 6.5x 9.8x
EV/EBITDA 22.9x 20.7x 19.2x
EV/EBIT 27.1x 26.4x 25.4x
EV/Revenue 4.7x 4.3x 3.6x
EV/FCF 39.4x 30.3x 33.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 26.1x 26.0x 27.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.24 1.42 -13.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCATWABITT
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.4% 13.4% 28.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 10.1% 14.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 19.2% 27.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 15.9% 17.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.7% 14.7% -2.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 21.5% 8.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 14.9% 9.5% -18.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 22.9% -0.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 17.1% 11.1% -28.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 25.6% -3.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 19.3% 20.1% 3.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.6% 41.6% 14.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 16.2% 18.0% 4.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 47.4% 16.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCATWABITT
Gross margin 34.3% 35.0% 35.2%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 21.0% 19.0%
Operating margin 17.5% 16.4% 14.4%
Pretax margin 18.6% 14.2% 12.8%
Net margin 14.5% 10.6% 8.9%
FCF margin 12.0% 14.3% 10.8%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 16.7% 13.4%
Return on equity 57.0% 11.4% 8.9%
Return on assets 10.9% 5.5% 3.8%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 8.3% 8.8%
Return on capital employed 22.1% 11.0% 7.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.6x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.8% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCATWABITT
Debt / assets 44.0% 28.4% 7.8%
Debt / equity 2.3x 0.6x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.5x 2.4x 0.3x
Debt / FCF 5.0x 3.8x 1.7x
Liabilities / assets 81.1% 51.4% 56.4%
Equity / assets 18.9% 48.6% 43.6%
Interest coverage 6.8x 6.9x 6.8x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.1x 1.3x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 4.55 3.43 2.73

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCATWABITT
Dividend yield 0.7% 0.4% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 2.3% 1.2% 0.7%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 1.6% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 25.9% 15.0% 29.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.3% 11.2% 24.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) 4.2% 23.1% 14.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 17.6% 10.7%

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.

ConsensusCATWABITT
Forward P/E 26.6xFY2026 23.6xFY2026 23.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.79FY2026 $11.51FY2026 $7.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.3%FY2026 +28.3%FY2026 +18.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +31.4% +5.9% +18.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $84.12BFY2026 $12.87BFY2026 $5.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +15.2%FY2026 +36.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% -2.5% +9.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCATWABITT
Held by institutions 72.3% 92.6% 98.4%
Institutions holding 4,055 1,195 714
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +0.2% +3.4%
Institutions buying 1,886 553 326
Institutions selling 1,595 409 251
Buyers to sellers 1.18 1.35 1.30

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.

CATWABITT
CAT 1.00 0.66 0.63
WAB 0.66 1.00 0.60
ITT 0.63 0.60 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAT, WAB and ITT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caterpillar (CAT) $318.29B, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) $46.97B, Itt (ITT) $17.06B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAT, WAB and ITT?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caterpillar (CAT) 29.4x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 37.0x, Itt (ITT) 40.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is cheapest (Caterpillar (CAT) 26.6x, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 23.6x, Itt (ITT) 23.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Itt (ITT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +13.4%, Itt (ITT) +28.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 10.6%, Itt (ITT) 8.9%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 8.3%, Itt (ITT) 8.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) returned the most: Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +38.2%, Itt (ITT) +8.3%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Caterpillar (CAT) +27.9%/yr, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) +24.1%/yr, Itt (ITT) +15.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest dividend yield: Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 0.00%, Itt (ITT) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) has been the steadiest (Caterpillar (CAT) 40.4%, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) 26.2%, Itt (ITT) 32.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 6. 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.