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Caterpillar

CAT
43
Agricultural - Machinery · Industrials
Price
$842.19
-14.77 (-1.72%)
Market Cap
$387.94B
Exchange
United States
Winston Score
43
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 9, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

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)

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.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

17 trades / 12mo

9 Congressional buys and 8 sells on CAT in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

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

Gross Margin
37.8%
Modest — 37.8% gross margin
Operating Margin
20.9%
Excellent — 20.9% operating margin
ROCE
6.7%
Weak — 6.7% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+18.4%
Fast-growing sales (+18.4% YoY)
EPS YoY
-21.4%
Earnings shrinking (-21.4% YoY)

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

EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
126%
Turns 126% of profit into real cash
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

Debt / Equity
2.33
Heavy debt load (2.33)
Interest Cover
11.98x
Comfortably covers interest (12.0x)

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

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
54.2x
Expensive — P/E 54.2

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

P/E vs Forward
+25.5
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (54.2 → 28.7)

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
0.71%
Small dividend — 0.71% yield

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

Dividend Growth
+7.3%
Dividend growing modestly (7.3% YoY)

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