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CAT

Caterpillar Inc.

NYQ · Industrials

$811.80

$0.78 (+0.10%)up 0.10%

25 August 2026 · delayed 15+ min

D+

Quality score68.4 / 100

Cut-offs are the grader's own: 97+ for an A+, below 60 is an F.

Caterpillar Inc. earns a D+ on good profit margins (>10%) and strong ROE (>20%) but high debt-to-equity ratio (>2.0) and MACD bearish (negative histogram). Reasonable investment with moderate upside potential.

Model stance HOLD Suggested position 5.1% · $510.00 IQInvest estimate
Adjusted for Medium-term investors 5.1% suggested allocation Change these

These change the suggested position size and the stance, not the category scores. Amount is in dollars.

IQ-CAT-20260825engine v1 · 7-category weighted scorecard

What it is worth, depending who you ask.

Today’s price against the year it has had and the targets analysts publish. Every marker is a reported figure, not a projection of ours.

52-week low

$410.52

Lowest analyst target

$575.00

Today's price

$811.80

Mean analyst target

$979.22

52-week high

$1,073.46

Highest analyst target

$1,225.00

CAT trades 61% of the way up its 52-week range, between $410.52 and $1,073.46. The mean analyst target of $979.22 is 20.6% above today's price.

Today’s price 52-week range Analyst price targets

Scored categories

Financial healthGood profit margins (>10%); Strong ROE (>20%); High debt-to-equity ratio (>2.0) 100.023%

Profit margin

14.51%

Net profit per unit of revenue

healthyWhat this means

Of every 100 units of revenue, this much survives as profit.

A comfortable buffer between revenue and costs.

Operating margin

22.18%

Before interest and tax

healthyWhat this means

Profit from operations, before interest and tax, per 100 of revenue.

The operations themselves are comfortably profitable.

Gross margin

29.71%

After the cost of goods only

moderateWhat this means

What is left of revenue after only the direct cost of the product.

A conventional manufacturing or mixed-model range.

Return on equity

56.97%

Profit per unit of shareholder capital

very strongWhat this means

Profit generated per unit of shareholder capital.

Rare when sustained — check whether debt is flattering it, since borrowing shrinks the equity denominator.

Return on assets

9.03%

Profit per unit of assets

strongWhat this means

Profit generated per unit of everything the company owns.

The assets are working hard.

Debt to equity

232.78

Borrowings against equity

heavily gearedWhat this means

Borrowings measured against shareholder capital.

Debt magnifies both good years and bad, and raises the stakes when rates rise.

Current ratio

1.37

Short-term assets over short-term debts

adequateWhat this means

Short-term assets against short-term obligations.

Enough to cover near-term bills.

Quick ratio

0.78

As above, excluding inventory

adequateWhat this means

Short-term assets excluding inventory, against short-term debts.

Near-term obligations are roughly covered without selling inventory.

Revenue growth

24.00%

Year on year

fast-growingWhat this means

Change in revenue against the same period last year.

Rapid growth, though the question is always how long it can hold.

Earnings growth

68.20%

Year on year

very strongWhat this means

Change in earnings against the same period last year.

Check whether it is repeatable or a one-off — a single asset sale can flatter this badly.

Revenue

$37.96B

Trailing twelve months

Free cash flow

$5.05B

Cash left after capital spending

Operating cash flow

$13.57B

Cash from the business itself

Payout ratio

26.01%

Dividends as a share of earnings

conservativeWhat this means

The share of earnings paid out as dividends.

Comfortably covered, with room to keep raising it.

Growth & momentumStrong 1-year return (89.5%) 75.022%

Return, 1 month

-3.45%

Return, 3 months

-10.62%

Return, 6 months

6.29%

Return, year to date

36.49%

Return, 1 year

89.48%

Return, 3 years

210.45%

Sharpe ratio

0.99

Return earned per unit of risk

modestWhat this means

Return earned per unit of risk taken.

Below 1 is the common case; return did not strongly outpace the volatility.

Win rate

53.11%

Share of days that closed up

consistently positiveWhat this means

The share of trading days that closed higher.

More up days than most shares manage.

Average daily return

0.13%

Best day

11.63%

Worst day

-8.64%

ValuationHigh P/B ratio (19.24) 35.018%

P/E ratio

34.99

Price against trailing earnings

highWhat this means

You pay 34.99 for every 1 unit of annual earnings.

Above about 25 the market is paying up for expected growth.

Forward P/E

25.15

Price against forecast earnings

moderateWhat this means

Price against next year's *forecast* earnings.

A conventional range.

PEG ratio

1.82

P/E adjusted for growth

fairWhat this means

P/E divided by the growth rate — it asks whether the price is justified by the growth.

Between 1 and 2 price and growth are roughly in step.

Price to book

19.24

Price against balance-sheet equity

well above bookWhat this means

Price against the accounting value of the company's net assets.

Normal for asset-light businesses, where the value sits in brands and software the balance sheet never records.

Price to sales

4.99

Price against revenue

highWhat this means

Price against revenue — usable when a company has no profit yet.

The price assumes today's revenue will convert into much more profit later.

EV / EBITDA

25.35

Whole-company value against cash earnings

highWhat this means

Whole-company value, debt included, against cash earnings.

Expensive even before interest, tax and depreciation are considered.

Enterprise value

$412.01B

Market value plus debt, minus cash — the price of the whole business

Shares outstanding

459,674,889

Shares the profit is split across

Dividend yield

0.80%

Annual dividend against price

modestWhat this means

Annual dividend as a percentage of the share price.

A small income component.

TechnicalRSI in healthy range (30-70); MACD bearish (negative histogram) 60.015%

RSI (14)

40.0

Above 70 overbought, below 30 oversold

neutralWhat this means

A 0–100 momentum gauge over the last 14 sessions.

The middle band, where most trading days sit.

MACD

-18.74

Momentum against its own trend

MACD histogram

-1.08

Positive is bullish

ADX

12.7

Trend strength; above 25 is a real trend

no clear trendWhat this means

Trend strength, regardless of direction.

Below about 20 the price is ranging rather than trending.

20-day average

$836.80

50-day average

$901.02

200-day average

$761.40

Price vs 50-day

-9.90%

Price vs 200-day

6.62%

Bollinger upper

$887.39

Bollinger lower

$786.21

Average true range

33.35

Typical daily trading range

Stochastic %K

12.4

RiskHigh beta (1.60) - more volatile than market 30.012%

Volatility, annualised

31.76%

How far it swings in a year

normalWhat this means

How far the price typically swings over a year.

A typical range for an individual share.

Beta

1.60

Moves against the wider market

more volatile than the marketWhat this means

How much the price moves relative to the wider market.

Amplifies the index — bigger gains, bigger falls.

Maximum drawdown

-34.05%

Worst peak-to-trough fall

significantWhat this means

The worst peak-to-trough fall in the period measured.

A serious decline, though not unusual over a multi-year window.

Risk category

Very High

The engine's own banding

Analyst viewAnalyst consensus: Buy; Significant upside potential (20.6%) 100.010%

Consensus

Buy

What covering analysts rate it

Analysts covering

26

Mean price target

$979.22

Highest target

$1,225.00

Lowest target

$575.00

Implied upside

20.62%

Target against today's price

meaningfulWhat this means

How far the mean analyst target sits above today's price.

Analysts see real room above today's price.

Price against the S&P 500

180 trading days to 2026-08-25

CAT is 35.4% up over the window, against 11.6% up for the S&P 500 — ahead by 23.8 points.
CAT +35.4%S&P 500 +11.6%
Show the numbers
Sampled across the window. Both columns are rebased to 100 on 2025-12-05, so they can be compared directly.
DateCloseCAT rebasedS&P 500 rebased
2025-12-05$599.51100.0100.0
2025-12-29$575.1095.9100.5
2026-01-21$642.96107.2100.1
2026-02-11$772.10128.8101.0
2026-03-05$703.43117.399.4
2026-03-26$700.55116.994.3
2026-04-17$791.67132.1103.7
2026-05-08$895.79149.4107.7
2026-06-01$863.76144.1110.6
2026-06-23$982.42163.9107.2
2026-07-15$912.61152.2110.2
2026-08-05$871.08145.3112.4

How the score was built

Each category is scored 0–100, then multiplied by its weight. The seven contributions sum to the quality score.
CategoryScoreWeightContribution
Financial health100.023%23.0
Growth & momentum75.022%16.5
Valuation35.018%6.3
Technical60.015%9.0
Risk30.012%3.6
Analyst view100.010%10.0
ESG50.00%0.0
Quality score100%68.4

ESG is scored but carries no weight in this grade. Add ?esg=1 to the address to include it — the engine then redistributes weight across the other six, so the whole scorecard changes, not just one row.

Argue with the model

Every other grader hands you a number. This one hands you the model.

Move a slider, press Recalculate, and the grade is rebuilt from the same category scores. Nothing is hidden: the scores are the engine's, only the weighting is yours.

18%
23%
22%
12%
15%
10%
0%

These are IQInvest's own weights, totalling 100%.

Your grade

D+

68.4 / 100

Identical to the IQInvest grade.

All 66 metricsOne flat sortable table, for when you want everything at once.
Metric Category Value Source
Worst dayGrowth & momentum-8.64%Yahoo Finance
Win rateGrowth & momentum53.11%Yahoo Finance
VolumeMarket data523,036Yahoo Finance
Volatility, annualisedRisk31.76%Yahoo Finance
Stochastic %KTechnical12.4Yahoo Finance
Sharpe ratioGrowth & momentum0.99Yahoo Finance
Shares outstandingValuation459,674,889Yahoo Finance
RSI (14)Technical40.0Yahoo Finance
Risk categoryRiskVery HighYahoo Finance
Revenue growthFinancial health24.00%Yahoo Finance
RevenueFinancial health$37.96BYahoo Finance
Return, year to dateGrowth & momentum36.49%Yahoo Finance
Return, 6 monthsGrowth & momentum6.29%Yahoo Finance
Return, 3 yearsGrowth & momentum210.45%Yahoo Finance
Return, 3 monthsGrowth & momentum-10.62%Yahoo Finance
Return, 1 yearGrowth & momentum89.48%Yahoo Finance
Return, 1 monthGrowth & momentum-3.45%Yahoo Finance
Return on equityFinancial health56.97%Yahoo Finance
Return on assetsFinancial health9.03%Yahoo Finance
Quick ratioFinancial health0.78Yahoo Finance
Profit marginFinancial health14.51%Yahoo Finance
Price vs 50-dayTechnical-9.90%Yahoo Finance
Price vs 200-dayTechnical6.62%Yahoo Finance
Price to salesValuation4.99Yahoo Finance
Price to bookValuation19.24Yahoo Finance
Previous closeMarket data$811.02Yahoo Finance
PEG ratioValuation1.82Yahoo Finance
Payout ratioFinancial health26.01%Yahoo Finance
P/E ratioValuation34.99Yahoo Finance
Operating marginFinancial health22.18%Yahoo Finance
Operating cash flowFinancial health$13.57BYahoo Finance
OpenMarket data$833.57Yahoo Finance
Mean price targetAnalyst view$979.22Yahoo Finance
Maximum drawdownRisk-34.05%Yahoo Finance
MACD histogramTechnical-1.08Yahoo Finance
MACDTechnical-18.74Yahoo Finance
Lowest targetAnalyst view$575.00Yahoo Finance
Implied upsideAnalyst view20.62%Yahoo Finance
Highest targetAnalyst view$1,225.00Yahoo Finance
Gross marginFinancial health29.71%Yahoo Finance
Free cash flowFinancial health$5.05BYahoo Finance
Forward P/EValuation25.15Yahoo Finance
EV / EBITDAValuation25.35Yahoo Finance
Enterprise valueValuation$412.01BYahoo Finance
EmployeesMarket data118,000Yahoo Finance
Earnings growthFinancial health68.20%Yahoo Finance
Dividend yieldValuation0.80%Yahoo Finance
Debt to equityFinancial health232.78Yahoo Finance
Day lowMarket data$804.75Yahoo Finance
Day highMarket data$834.36Yahoo Finance
Current ratioFinancial health1.37Yahoo Finance
ConsensusAnalyst viewBuyYahoo Finance
Bollinger upperTechnical$887.39Yahoo Finance
Bollinger lowerTechnical$786.21Yahoo Finance
BetaRisk1.60Yahoo Finance
Best dayGrowth & momentum11.63%Yahoo Finance
Average volumeMarket data3,273,926Yahoo Finance
Average true rangeTechnical33.35Yahoo Finance
Average daily returnGrowth & momentum0.13%Yahoo Finance
Analysts coveringAnalyst view26Yahoo Finance
ADXTechnical12.7Yahoo Finance
52-week lowMarket data$410.52Yahoo Finance
52-week highMarket data$1,073.46Yahoo Finance
50-day averageTechnical$901.02Yahoo Finance
200-day averageTechnical$761.40Yahoo Finance
20-day averageTechnical$836.80Yahoo Finance
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