Where it trades today
trading 57% of the way up its 52-week range
How the price has moved
What to weigh before acting
What Matters Now
- Order-book quality, backlog conversion, and operating leverage usually tell you more than a single quarter of revenue growth.
- CAT trades at 34.8x earnings, well above the industrials average of 18.5x, so the market is already pricing in above-consensus execution.
- Recent realized volatility is running around 26.9%, above the sector norm of 22.0%, so position sizing matters more than usual.
- Relative performance versus HON, UPS matters here because leadership inside industrials rarely stays static for long.
Portfolio Use Case
- CAT is more useful for investors comparing conviction names inside industrials than for someone looking for a passive “set and forget” holding.
- This name works better as a satellite or higher-conviction growth position because it can amplify market swings in both directions.
- This page is most useful for deciding whether the stock deserves a permanent slot in the portfolio or just a place on the watchlist.
What Would Change the View
- A reset in earnings expectations or a faster peer catch-up could compress the premium valuation currently embedded in CAT.
- Volatility is already above the sector norm, so even a correct long-term thesis can be painful if the position size is too aggressive.
- The view would need revisiting if peers such as HON, UPS start winning the marginal flow or posting cleaner operating momentum.
Methodology
- Price, market cap, beta, yield, and liquidity fields for CAT come from Yahoo Finance quote and summary data.
- 30-day volatility is calculated from recent daily returns and annualized using a 252-trading-day convention.
- Sector context uses stored benchmark averages for Industrials so each page compares the ticker against a stable peer baseline rather than against the whole market.
- Peer comparisons use the Portfolio Terminal coverage set and highlight nearby listed alternatives such as HON, UPS.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance quote dataopen →
Live quote, valuation, beta, yield, and volume fields used for CAT. Last refresh: Sep 18, 2026, 10:56 PM.
- Portfolio Terminal methodologyopen →
Explains how analytics, refresh cadence, and portfolio interpretation work across the product.
- Peer set and coverage context
Comparative context for this page is anchored around nearby tracked names such as HON, UPS.
What Caterpillar Inc. does
Caterpillar Inc. provides construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in the United States and internationally. The Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, cold planers, compactors, forestry machines, material handlers, motor graders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, telehandlers, track-type tractors, and track and wheel excavators; backhoe, compact track, skid steer, track-type, and wheel loaders; and related parts and work tools. Its Resource Industries segment provides electric rope and hydraulic shovels, draglines, rotary drills, hard rock vehicles, mining trucks, wheel loaders,…
Employees
118,000
Industry
Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery
Headquarters
Irving, United States
What analysts expect
CAT carries a buy consensus from 26 analysts, with an average price target of $975.61 versus $808.99 today (+20.6%). Targets are estimates and can move quickly after earnings.
Consensus aggregated by Yahoo Finance. Targets are estimates, not forecasts.
How the business is doing
CAT generated $74.73B in trailing revenue (24.0% year over year), with a 14.5% net margin, and $5.05B of free cash flow, against $39.20B of net debt.
The numbers, year by year
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Gross profit | Operating income | Net income | EPS | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $67.59B | $21.48B | $11.15B | $8.88B | $18.90 | $7.45B |
| 2024 | $64.81B | $23.32B | $13.07B | $10.79B | $22.17 | $8.82B |
| 2023 | $67.06B | $23.26B | $12.97B | $10.34B | $20.24 | $9.79B |
| 2022 | $59.43B | $17.51B | $8.83B | $6.71B | $12.72 | $5.17B |
When it reports next
Estimates aggregated by Yahoo Finance. Dates move and estimates change until the report lands.
How it sits in industrials
Manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and infrastructure companies.
The companies it competes with
CAT beside the industrials names it is usually measured against.
What the chart is saying
Caterpillar Inc. trades at $808.99, 24.6% below its 52-week high. With a beta of 1.59, it shows more sensitivity to what the wider market does.
Questions people ask about it
Is CAT a good buy right now?
Caterpillar Inc. trades at 34.8x earnings. This is above market average, reflecting growth expectations. Current risk level is Medium based on 26.9% volatility.
Does CAT pay dividends?
Yes, Caterpillar Inc. offers a dividend yield of 0.82%. That is roughly $6.63 per share a year.
How volatile is CAT?
With 30-day annualized volatility of 26.9% and beta of 1.59, CAT is classified as Medium risk. Expect larger swings than the broader market during volatile periods.
What is the analyst price target for CAT?
The average analyst price target for Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is $975.61 based on 26 analyst estimates, about 20.6% above the current price of $808.99. The published range runs from $575.00 to $1225.00.
How much revenue does CAT generate?
Caterpillar Inc. reported $74.73B in trailing twelve-month revenue. Revenue growth is running at 24.0% year over year. Net margin sits at 14.5%. Figures are aggregated from company filings by Yahoo Finance and refresh on an hourly cadence.