Caterpillar (CAT) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2010 - 2026)
Caterpillar's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] came in at 15.86% for Q2 2026, down 0.04 percentage points from 15.90% a year earlier but up 1.75 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Caterpillar (CAT) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025, Caterpillar's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 13.83%, down 4.39 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] carries a five-year change of +7.33 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 18.22% in FY2024 (-0.29 pp), 18.51% in FY2023 (+7.24 pp), 11.26% in FY2022 (+1.12 pp) and 10.14% in FY2021 (+3.64 pp).
- The five-year range for quarterly Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] is 9.55% (Q3 2021) to 19.61% (Q2 2024).
- Year-over-year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] has declined for six consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -1.78 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] over five years came in Q1 2024 (a gain of 7.29 percentage points), and the weakest in Q4 2025 (a drop of 4.87 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows CAT's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] at 14.11% (Q1 2026), 13.37% (Q4 2025) and 14.75% (Q3 2025) in the three quarters before Q2 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROIC (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caterpillar | 256.79 Bn | 228.09 Bn | 7.35 Bn | 16.80% |
| 2 | Amphenol | 183.76 Bn | 178.46 Bn | 4.02 Bn | 18.53% |
| 3 | Deere | 181.25 Bn | 149.34 Bn | 4.66 Bn | 5.47% |
| 4 | Eaton | 132.82 Bn | 129.76 Bn | 3.11 Bn | 10.72% |
| 5 | Parker-Hannifin | 115.39 Bn | 113.27 Bn | 2.26 Bn | 13.34% |
| 6 | 3M | 96.09 Bn | 77.53 Bn | 2.78 Bn | 22.04% |
| 7 | Emerson Electric | 90.66 Bn | 83.40 Bn | 2.66 Bn | 10.94% |
| 8 | Illinois Tool Works | 79.95 Bn | 76.63 Bn | 1.91 Bn | 27.11% |
| 9 | Vertiv Holdings | 70.25 Bn | 59.10 Bn | 1.64 Bn | 26.27% |
| 10 | Tenaris | 62.09 Bn | 33.35 Bn | 1.07 Bn | 13.00% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.80% |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 15.86% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 14.11% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 13.37% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 14.75% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 15.90% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 16.89% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 18.23% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 18.88% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 19.61% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 19.55% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 17.74% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 15.43% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 14.33% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 12.25% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 11.50% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 11.94% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 10.53% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 10.01% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 10.05% |
API Access
Caterpillar Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=CAT&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-invested-capital-[roic]", "ticker": "CAT", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=CAT&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();