PCAR vs FSS vs CAT Stock Comparison

Paccar, Federal Signal and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PCAR Paccar Inc
$102.42 -8.3% 1M +3.3% 1Y
Market cap
$53.92B
P/E
19.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$29.08B
Div. yield
2.69%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins
FSS Federal Signal Corp /De/
$113.43 -1.4% 1M -9.9% 1Y
Market cap
$6.92B
P/E
24.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.45B
Div. yield
0.52%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
2 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$714.23 -12.9% 1M +36.2% 1Y
Market cap
$328.33B
P/E
30.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.88%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionPCARFSSCATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $53.92B $6.92B $328.33B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.5x 24.2x 30.3x PCAR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.4x 23.1x 27.7x PCAR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -1.5% +24.0% +18.4% FSS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.5% 11.7% 14.5% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -50.7% 15.3% 15.9% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.8x 2.5x PCAR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.69% 0.52% 0.88% PCAR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +3.3% -9.9% +36.2% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.4%/yr +21.5%/yr +28.5%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.1% 35.0% 40.5% PCAR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 76/100 53/100 FSS

Percentile Scorecard

PCARFSSCAT

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

AxisPCARFSSCAT
Valuation 53 #96 of 203 54 #95 of 203 25 #153 of 203
Growth 18 #154 of 188 94 #13 of 188 70 #58 of 188
Profitability 31 #128 of 184 91 #18 of 184 93 #13 of 184
Financial Health 57 #94 of 217 76 #53 of 217 18 #179 of 217
Shareholder Returns 68 #50 of 153 66 #53 of 153 60 #62 of 153
Overall 45 76 53
  • PCAR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FSS 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

PeriodPCARFSSCATSPY
1 month -8.3%-1.4%-12.9% +0.9%
3 months -23.5%+1.3%-8.8% +5.9%
6 months -13.3%-6.6%-11.8% +8.5%
Year to date -6.5%+4.5%+24.7% +13.3%
1 year +3.3%-9.9%+36.2% +12.4%
3 years +23.0%+98.1%+199.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +7.1%+25.6%+44.2% +23.5%
5 years +71.4%+165.0%+250.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +11.4%+21.5%+28.5% +11.0%
10 years +177.3%+834.3%+751.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year +10.7%+25.0%+23.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasurePCARFSSCATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.1%35.0%40.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%35.9%40.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.891.281.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.12-0.280.89 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -30.6%-33.3%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.9%-15.2%-32.9% -0.9%
52-week high $138.21$133.73$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $94.15$104.77$524.47 $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.

MultiplePCARFSSCAT
P/E now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 25.4x 24.2xmedian 25.4x 30.3xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x 4.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -2.9xmedian 14.3x 15.1xmedian 14.3x 23.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 21.8x 20.4xmedian 21.8x 36.5xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.2x 4.6xmedian 2.2x 16.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -1.56median 1.41 0.85median 1.41 2.33median 1.41

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 monthsPCARFSSCAT
Revenue $29.08B $2.45B $74.73B
Gross profit $5.86B $714.00M $25.66B
Operating income -$20.02B $395.40M $13.09B
Net income $2.76B $285.40M $10.84B
Free cash flow $2.17B $339.20M $8.99B
R&D $438.50M – $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $5.23 $4.64 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $6.15B $62.80M $6.71B
Total debt $10.40B $453.60M $45.15B
Shares (diluted) 527.70M 61.50M 462.50M
Enterprise value $16.79B $6.67B $300.03B

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
MetricPCARFSSCAT
P/E 19.5x 24.2x 30.3x
P/FCF 24.9x 20.4x 36.5x
P/Operating cash flow 14.7x 18.6x 24.2x
P/S 1.9x 2.8x 4.4x
P/B 2.6x 4.6x 16.9x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 6.2x 17.3x
EV/EBITDA -2.9x 15.1x 23.7x
EV/EBIT -2.7x 18.5x 28.0x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 3.0x 4.9x
EV/FCF 25.4x 21.6x 40.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.0x 19.6x 27.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.56 0.85 2.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPCARFSSCAT
Revenue growth (1Y) -1.5% 24.0% 18.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.2% 16.1% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -4.0% 24.5% 11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -8.7% 22.1% 5.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.5% 27.8% 13.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -10.2% 28.8% 7.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 2.6% 28.8% 14.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -12.4% 28.6% 9.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 2.4% 28.4% 17.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 28.6% 13.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -22.3% 45.6% 19.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 59.2% 10.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.2% 49.8% 16.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% 73.3% 7.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPCARFSSCAT
Gross margin 20.1% 29.2% 34.3%
EBITDA margin -65.9% 19.8% 20.7%
Operating margin -68.8% 16.2% 17.5%
Pretax margin 12.2% 15.2% 18.6%
Net margin 9.5% 11.7% 14.5%
FCF margin 7.4% 13.9% 12.0%
Operating cash flow margin 12.6% 15.2% 18.2%
Return on equity 13.4% 19.4% 57.0%
Return on assets 6.2% 11.7% 10.9%
Return on invested capital -50.7% 15.3% 15.9%
Return on capital employed -51.1% 18.5% 22.1%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPCARFSSCAT
Debt / assets 23.0% 18.6% 44.0%
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.3x 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 0.8x 2.5x
Debt / FCF 4.8x 1.3x 5.0x
Liabilities / assets 53.6% 38.2% 81.1%
Equity / assets 46.4% 61.8% 18.9%
Interest coverage – 19.3x 6.8x
Current ratio 2.8x 2.7x 1.4x
Quick ratio 2.2x 1.1x 0.5x
Cash ratio 1.7x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.41 7.10 4.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPCARFSSCAT
Dividend yield 2.7% 0.5% 0.9%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 0.0% 2.2%
Shareholder yield 2.6% 0.5% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 12.6% 25.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 10.6% 31.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 13.6% 4.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 17.0% 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.

ConsensusPCARFSSCAT
Forward P/E 16.4xFY2026 23.1xFY2026 27.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.23FY2026 $4.92FY2026 $25.79FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.4%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.2% +10.0% +31.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $26.76BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.0%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +23.1% -5.3% +1.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPCARFSSCAT
Held by institutions 73.8% 100.0% 72.3%
Institutions holding 1,095 474 4,058
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +3.9% +0.5%
Institutions buying 503 249 1,889
Institutions selling 406 152 1,595
Buyers to sellers 1.24 1.64 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.

PCARFSSCAT
PCAR 1.00 0.36 0.46
FSS 0.36 1.00 0.50
CAT 0.46 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PCAR, FSS and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Paccar (PCAR) $53.92B, Federal Signal (FSS) $6.92B, Caterpillar (CAT) $328.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, PCAR, FSS and CAT?

Paccar (PCAR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Paccar (PCAR) 19.5x, Federal Signal (FSS) 24.2x, Caterpillar (CAT) 30.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Paccar (PCAR) is cheapest (Paccar (PCAR) 16.4x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.1x, Caterpillar (CAT) 27.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Federal Signal (FSS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Paccar (PCAR) -1.5%, Federal Signal (FSS) +24.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caterpillar (CAT) has the highest net margin (Paccar (PCAR) 9.5%, Federal Signal (FSS) 11.7%, Caterpillar (CAT) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Caterpillar (CAT) leads (Paccar (PCAR) -50.7%, Federal Signal (FSS) 15.3%, Caterpillar (CAT) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Paccar (PCAR) +3.3%, Federal Signal (FSS) -9.9%, Caterpillar (CAT) +36.2%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Paccar (PCAR) +11.4%/yr, Federal Signal (FSS) +21.5%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +28.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Paccar (PCAR) has the highest dividend yield: Paccar (PCAR) 2.69%, Federal Signal (FSS) 0.52%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.88%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Paccar (PCAR) has been the steadiest (Paccar (PCAR) 27.1%, Federal Signal (FSS) 35.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PCAR, FSS 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.