CMI vs ALSN vs CAT Stock Comparison

Cummins, Allison Transmission Holdings and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CMI Cummins Inc
$517.26 -1.5% 1M +23.8% 1Y
Market cap
$71.88B
P/E
26.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.71B
Div. yield
–
Heavy Equipment Industrials
2 wins
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
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Caterpillar leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Caterpillar 5, Allison Transmission Holdings 4, Cummins 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCMIALSNCATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $71.88B $8.90B $318.29B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.5x 16.8x 29.4x ALSN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.5x 13.9x 26.6x ALSN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.9% +37.6% +18.4% ALSN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.8% 12.0% 14.5% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.6% 10.7% 15.9% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 3.4x 2.5x CMI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +23.8% +27.8% +32.0% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.5%/yr +25.2%/yr +27.9%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 37.1% 31.4% 40.4% ALSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 57/100 50/100 CMI

Percentile Scorecard

CMIALSNCAT

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

AxisCMIALSNCAT
Valuation 51 #101 of 203 74 #54 of 203 22 #159 of 203
Growth 54 #88 of 188 43 #108 of 188 68 #61 of 188
Profitability 70 #56 of 187 88 #24 of 187 91 #17 of 187
Financial Health 50 #111 of 222 14 #192 of 222 16 #186 of 222
Shareholder Returns 71 #45 of 153 66 #52 of 153 53 #72 of 153
Overall 59 57 50
  • CMI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ALSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCMIALSNCATSPY
1 month -1.5%-7.2%-15.5% -1.0%
3 months -22.1%-13.1%-22.7% +2.9%
6 months -21.7%-21.5%-17.3% +6.4%
Year to date +1.3%+8.6%+19.9% +11.4%
1 year +23.8%+27.8%+32.0% +13.1%
3 years +136.0%+85.2%+175.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +33.2%+22.8%+40.2% +21.5%
5 years +114.9%+207.7%+242.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.5%+25.2%+27.9% +10.9%
10 years +308.4%+286.6%+695.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +15.1%+14.5%+23.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCMIALSNCATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 37.1%31.4%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.8%30.1%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.621.041.83 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.640.890.79 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.8%-34.1%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -28.9%-21.8%-35.5% -2.5%
52-week high $727.59$136.00$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $414.30$79.27$520.50 $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.

MultipleCMIALSNCAT
P/E now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 25.9x 16.7xmedian 25.9x 29.2xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.9x 2.0xmedian 1.9x 4.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 13.7x 11.3xmedian 13.7x 22.9xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.1xmedian 21.1x 11.9xmedian 21.1x 35.1xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 2.3x 4.4xmedian 2.3x 16.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 8.19median 1.19 -5.86median 1.19 2.24median 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 monthsCMIALSNCAT
Revenue $34.71B $4.40B $74.73B
Gross profit $8.79B $1.60B $25.66B
Operating income $3.89B $861.00M $13.09B
Net income $2.83B $529.00M $10.84B
Free cash flow $3.37B $737.00M $8.99B
R&D $1.44B $197.00M $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $19.60 $6.30 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $3.18B $399.00M $6.71B
Total debt $29.22B $4.14B $173.08B
Shares (diluted) 138.50M 84.00M 462.50M
Enterprise value $67.96B $5.79B $289.99B

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
MetricCMIALSNCAT
P/E 26.3x 16.7x 29.2x
P/FCF 21.1x 11.9x 35.1x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 9.4x 23.3x
P/S 2.1x 2.0x 4.2x
P/B 5.1x 4.4x 16.3x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 23.6x 16.6x
EV/EBITDA 14.9x 11.3x 22.9x
EV/EBIT 19.2x 14.5x 27.1x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 2.8x 4.7x
EV/FCF 22.2x 17.0x 39.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.1x 13.3x 26.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.19 -5.86 2.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCMIALSNCAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.9% 37.6% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.5% 14.2% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 1.7% 3.5% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 4.4% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.0% -13.9% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.1% -0.2% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -7.8% -30.6% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 2.9% -5.4% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -7.7% -29.8% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 3.2% -2.8% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 63.4% 14.2% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% 7.1% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 103.8% 12.7% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 45.3% 6.8% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCMIALSNCAT
Gross margin 25.3% 36.4% 34.3%
EBITDA margin 14.4% 25.1% 20.7%
Operating margin 11.2% 19.6% 17.5%
Pretax margin 11.1% 15.7% 18.6%
Net margin 7.8% 12.0% 14.5%
FCF margin 9.7% 16.7% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin 13.4% 21.3% 18.2%
Return on equity 20.7% 27.3% 57.0%
Return on assets 8.1% 6.1% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 13.6% 10.7% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 16.0% 11.7% 22.1%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.8x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.7% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCMIALSNCAT
Debt / assets 20.6% 47.5% 44.0%
Debt / equity 0.5x 2.1x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x 3.4x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 2.2x 5.6x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 61.0% 77.3% 81.1%
Equity / assets 39.0% 22.7% 18.9%
Interest coverage 12.1x – 6.8x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.8x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.49 1.78 4.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCMIALSNCAT
Dividend yield 1.6% 1.1% 0.7%
Net buyback yield 0.7% 1.4% 2.3%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 2.5% 3.0%
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.

ConsensusCMIALSNCAT
Forward P/E 16.5xFY2026 13.9xFY2026 26.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $31.40FY2026 $7.67FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +31.9%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.7% +45.5% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $35.36BFY2026 $6.32BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.0%FY2026 +109.9%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.2% +1.4% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCMIALSNCAT
Held by institutions 85.4% 100.0% 72.3%
Institutions holding 2,105 566 4,055
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +1.1% +0.5%
Institutions buying 1,048 258 1,886
Institutions selling 728 229 1,595
Buyers to sellers 1.44 1.13 1.18

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.

CMIALSNCAT
CMI 1.00 0.49 0.78
ALSN 0.49 1.00 0.52
CAT 0.78 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CMI, ALSN and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cummins (CMI) $71.88B, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) $8.90B, Caterpillar (CAT) $318.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, CMI, ALSN and CAT?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cummins (CMI) 26.5x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 16.8x, Caterpillar (CAT) 29.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) is cheapest (Cummins (CMI) 16.5x, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 13.9x, Caterpillar (CAT) 26.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cummins (CMI) +2.9%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +37.6%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Cummins (CMI) 7.8%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 12.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Cummins (CMI) 13.6%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 10.7%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Cummins (CMI) +23.8%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +27.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Cummins (CMI) +16.5%/yr, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) +25.2%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +27.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cummins (CMI) 0.00%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Cummins (CMI) and Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) has been the steadiest (Cummins (CMI) 37.1%, Allison Transmission Holdings (ALSN) 31.4%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CMI, ALSN and CAT?

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.