TSLA vs CAT Stock Comparison

Tesla and Caterpillar Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
TSLA Tesla, Inc.
$372.22 -2.1% 1M -17.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.28T
P/E
336.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$103.62B
Div. yield
–
Auto Manufacturers Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
CAT Caterpillar Inc
$686.82 -15.5% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$318.83B
P/E
29.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$74.73B
Div. yield
0.01%
Heavy Equipment Industrials
8 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.

QuestionTSLACATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.28T $318.83B TSLA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 336.1x 29.4x CAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 231.2x 26.6x CAT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +18.4% CAT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.7% 14.5% CAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.4% 15.9% CAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -3.2x 2.5x TSLA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -17.1% +32.0% CAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.2%/yr +27.9%/yr CAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 45.6% 40.4% CAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 50/100 TSLA

Percentile Scorecard

TSLACAT

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureTSLACATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 45.6%40.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.0%39.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.231.83 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.370.79 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.6%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.0%-35.5% -2.5%
52-week high $489.88$1,064.90 $779.14
52-week low $298.32$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.

MultipleTSLACAT
P/E now vs peer median 316.7xmedian 18.9x 29.2xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 0.5x 4.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 107.9xmedian 8.5x 22.9xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 209.1xmedian 8.8x 35.1xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 13.8xmedian 0.9x 16.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -9.72median 1.35 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 monthsTSLACAT
Revenue $103.62B $74.73B
Gross profit $19.53B $25.66B
Operating income $4.37B $13.09B
Net income $3.86B $10.84B
Free cash flow $5.76B $8.99B
R&D $7.73B $2.27B
EPS (diluted) $1.07 $23.45
Cash & equivalents $15.22B $6.71B
Total debt $9.34B $173.08B
Shares (diluted) 3.54B 462.50M
Enterprise value $1.10T $290.53B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

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

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

Institutional Ownership

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

TSLACAT
TSLA 1.00 0.35
CAT 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, TSLA and CAT?

Tesla (TSLA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Tesla (TSLA) $1.28T, Caterpillar (CAT) $318.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, TSLA and CAT?

Caterpillar (CAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Tesla (TSLA) 336.1x, Caterpillar (CAT) 29.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Caterpillar (CAT) is cheapest (Tesla (TSLA) 231.2x, 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?

Caterpillar (CAT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Tesla (TSLA) +11.8%, Caterpillar (CAT) +18.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Caterpillar (CAT) returned the most: Tesla (TSLA) -17.1%, Caterpillar (CAT) +32.0%. Over five years, Caterpillar (CAT) compounded fastest (Tesla (TSLA) +4.2%/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: Tesla (TSLA) 0.00%, Caterpillar (CAT) 0.01%. Tesla (TSLA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

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

Do TSLA and CAT 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, TSLA 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 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.