Caterpillar

CAT

Agricultural - Machinery · Industrials

Price

$827.90

+12.51 (+1.53%)

Market Cap

$381.36B

Exchange

United States

Winston Score

Winston is curious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Strong

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Exceptional

Stability

Good

Valuation

Good

Dividends

Mixed

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Share count falling — buybacks

−14.5% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 548.5M (2021) → 469.0M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Caterpillar makes heavy machines used to build things and dig up resources. Its main products include bulldozers, excavators, mining trucks, and large engines. Construction companies, mining firms, and governments around the world are its biggest customers. Caterpillar is the largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment on the planet.

Caterpillar earns money by selling equipment, offering financing to buyers, and providing parts and service contracts over the life of its machines. It operates in nearly every country, generates over $60 billion in annual revenue, and has a strong competitive position built on its dealer network and the high cost of switching to a competitor. The biggest risk the company faces is that demand for its equipment drops sharply when construction activity or commodity prices fall, making its business sensitive to economic cycles.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+24.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-100.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$2.1B/ year

→ Flat (+2% vs prior year)

3.2% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Steady R&D investment year-over-year

Insider Activity

0.3%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$6.7B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Caterpillar is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 24%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

37.8%

Modest — 37.8% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

20.9%

Excellent — 20.9% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

20.3%

Exceptional — 20.3% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+18.4%

Fast-growing sales (+18.4% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-21.4%

Earnings shrinking (-21.4% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

126%

Turns 126% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

14.4%

Converts sales into free cash efficiently (14.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

2.33

Heavy debt load (2.33)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

11.98x

Comfortably covers interest (12.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

35.5x

Pricey — P/E 35.5

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+6.8

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (35.5 → 28.7)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

0.71%

Small dividend — 0.71% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+7.3%

Dividend growing modestly (7.3% YoY)

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