TEX vs CAT vs FSS Stock Comparison

Terex, Caterpillar and Federal Signal Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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TEX Terex Corp
$56.54 +6.0% 1M +1.0% 1Y
Market cap
$6.36B
P/E
32.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.49B
Div. yield
1.20%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$647.25 -21.7% 1M +10.5% 1Y
Market cap
$297.54B
P/E
25.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.77B
Div. yield
0.97%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
3 wins
FSS Federal Signal Corp /De/
$115.22 +0.8% 1M -11.2% 1Y
Market cap
$7.03B
P/E
23.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.55B
Div. yield
0.51%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Federal Signal leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Federal Signal 6, Caterpillar 3, Terex 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionTEXCATFSSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.36B $297.54B $7.03B CAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.4x 25.2x 23.7x FSS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.7x 25.1x 23.4x TEX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +40.1% +20.3% +24.0% TEX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.6% — 11.7% FSS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.7% — 16.0% FSS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x — 0.7x FSS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.20% 0.97% 0.51% TEX
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.0% +10.5% -11.2% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.8%/yr +26.0%/yr +21.9%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.8% 40.3% 34.9% FSS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 44/100 77/100 FSS

Percentile Scorecard

TEXCATFSS

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

AxisTEXCATFSS
Valuation 85 #31 of 203 29 #144 of 203 58 #85 of 203
Growth 55 #86 of 188 74 #49 of 188 92 #16 of 188
Profitability 34 #122 of 183 77 #43 of 183 92 #16 of 183
Financial Health 27 #157 of 216 8 #199 of 216 77 #50 of 216
Shareholder Returns 77 #36 of 152 31 #105 of 152 65 #54 of 152
Overall 55 44 77
  • TEX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CAT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • FSS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodTEXCATFSSSPY
1 month +6.0%-21.7%+0.8% +0.7%
3 months -9.2%-20.0%-7.7% +3.7%
6 months -9.1%-27.3%-6.4% +7.1%
Year to date +5.9%+13.0%+6.1% +12.8%
1 year +1.0%+10.5%-11.2% +11.9%
3 years +23.4%+167.3%+98.4% +85.2%
3 years, per year +7.3%+38.8%+25.7% +22.8%
5 years +26.2%+217.3%+169.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +4.8%+26.0%+21.9% +10.9%
10 years +137.5%+671.6%+849.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +9.0%+22.7%+25.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureTEXCATFSSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.8%40.3%34.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.8%42.5%35.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.891.881.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.020.26-0.32 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.8%-39.2%-33.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.2%-39.2%-13.8% -1.2%
52-week high $74.58$1,064.90$133.73 $779.14
52-week low $41.78$546.13$104.77 $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.

MultipleTEXCATFSS
P/E now vs peer median 32.4xmedian 25.8x 25.2xmedian 25.8x 23.7xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.9x 3.8xmedian 1.9x 2.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 14.6x —median 14.6x 14.5xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 22.2x 42.3xmedian 22.2x 19.3xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 2.2x 13.9xmedian 2.2x 4.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.86median 1.45 1.95median 1.45 0.89median 1.45

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 monthsTEXCATFSS
Revenue $7.49B $77.77B $2.55B
Gross profit $1.28B – $741.70M
Operating income $425.00M $14.25B $412.80M
Net income $198.00M $11.83B $296.90M
Free cash flow $419.00M – $365.10M
R&D – $2.31B –
EPS (diluted) $1.74 $25.58 $4.83
Cash & equivalents $407.00M $7.93B $73.70M
Total debt $2.58B – $420.30M
Shares (diluted) 114.00M 462.50M 61.50M
Enterprise value $4.38B $297.54B $6.76B

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
MetricTEXCATFSS
P/E 32.4x 25.2x 23.7x
P/FCF 15.2x 42.3x 19.3x
P/Operating cash flow 11.7x 21.0x 17.5x
P/S 0.8x 3.8x 2.8x
P/B 1.3x 13.9x 4.5x
P/Tangible book 3.1x 14.1x 5.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.9x – 14.5x
EV/EBIT 20.1x – 17.9x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.8x 2.9x
EV/FCF 20.3x – 20.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.7x 21.0x 18.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.86 1.95 0.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricTEXCATFSS
Revenue growth (1Y) 40.1% 20.3% 24.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.3% 5.3% 15.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.9% – 24.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.7% – 20.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.7% 24.9% 26.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -12.8% 7.4% 25.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 26.9% 27.6% 25.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -25.7% 9.1% 26.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -26.3% 29.9% 25.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -37.4% 12.9% 26.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 31.8% 22.9% 62.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.4% 6.9% 45.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.2% – 66.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.1% – 53.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricTEXCATFSS
Gross margin 17.1% – 29.1%
EBITDA margin 9.6% – 19.9%
Operating margin 5.7% – 16.2%
Pretax margin 3.1% – 15.2%
Net margin 2.6% – 11.7%
FCF margin 5.6% – 14.3%
Operating cash flow margin 7.3% 18.2% 15.8%
Return on equity 3.9% 57.9% 19.2%
Return on assets 1.9% 11.3% 12.1%
Return on invested capital 4.7% – 16.0%
Return on capital employed 5.1% – 19.2%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.7x 1.2x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricTEXCATFSS
Debt / assets 25.0% – 17.1%
Debt / equity 0.5x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x – 0.7x
Debt / FCF 6.2x – 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 51.8% 79.9% 35.7%
Equity / assets 48.2% 20.1% 64.3%
Interest coverage 2.2x – 17.9x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.4x 3.0x
Quick ratio 0.8x – 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.05 – 7.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricTEXCATFSS
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.0% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 1.2% – 0.0%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 1.0% 0.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 34.8% – 12.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 16.5% – 9.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) 50.0% – 9.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 18.8% – 15.9%

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.

ConsensusTEXCATFSS
Forward P/E 10.7xFY2026 25.1xFY2026 23.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.26FY2026 $25.79FY2026 $4.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.7%FY2026 +35.3%FY2026 +16.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.9% +31.4% +10.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.62BFY2026 $84.12BFY2026 $2.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +59.1%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 +28.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +1.5% -5.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersTEXCATFSS
Held by institutions 100.0% 72.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 482 4,059 475
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.5% +3.9%
Institutions buying 240 1,890 250
Institutions selling 164 1,595 152
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.18 1.64

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.

TEXCATFSS
TEX 1.00 0.58 0.46
CAT 0.58 1.00 0.49
FSS 0.46 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TEX, CAT and FSS?

Caterpillar (CAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Terex (TEX) $6.36B, Caterpillar (CAT) $297.54B, Federal Signal (FSS) $7.03B.

Which stock is cheaper, TEX, CAT and FSS?

Federal Signal (FSS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Terex (TEX) 32.4x, Caterpillar (CAT) 25.2x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Terex (TEX) is cheapest (Terex (TEX) 10.7x, Caterpillar (CAT) 25.1x, Federal Signal (FSS) 23.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Terex (TEX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Terex (TEX) +40.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +20.3%, Federal Signal (FSS) +24.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Federal Signal (FSS) has the highest net margin (Terex (TEX) 2.6%, Federal Signal (FSS) 11.7%). On return on invested capital, Federal Signal (FSS) leads (Terex (TEX) 4.7%, Federal Signal (FSS) 16.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Terex (TEX) +1.0%, Caterpillar (CAT) +10.5%, Federal Signal (FSS) -11.2%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Terex (TEX) +4.8%/yr, Caterpillar (CAT) +26.0%/yr, Federal Signal (FSS) +21.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Terex (TEX) has the highest dividend yield: Terex (TEX) 1.20%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.97%, Federal Signal (FSS) 0.51%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Federal Signal (FSS) has been the steadiest (Terex (TEX) 49.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) 40.3%, Federal Signal (FSS) 34.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, TEX, CAT and FSS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Federal Signal (FSS) 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.