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Side-by-side financial comparison of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and IBM (IBM). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Caterpillar Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($19.1B vs $15.9B, roughly 1.2× IBM). Caterpillar Inc. runs the higher net margin — 12.5% vs 7.6%, a 4.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Caterpillar Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (18.0% vs 9.5%). Caterpillar Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($2.7B vs $2.2B). Over the past eight quarters, Caterpillar Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (10.0% CAGR vs 0.5%).
Caterpillar Inc. is an American construction, mining, and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the Fortune 500 list and number 265 on the Global Fortune 500 list. Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
International Business Machines Corporation, doing business as IBM, is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is a publicly traded company and one of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. IBM is the largest industrial research organization in the world, with 19 research facilities across a dozen countries; for 29 consecutive years, from 1993 to 2021, it held the record for most annual U.S.
CAT vs IBM — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $19.1B | $15.9B |
| Net Profit | $2.4B | $1.2B |
| Gross Margin | 30.5% | 56.2% |
| Operating Margin | 13.9% | — |
| Net Margin | 12.5% | 7.6% |
| Revenue YoY | 18.0% | 9.5% |
| Net Profit YoY | -13.9% | 15.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $5.11 | $1.28 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q1 26 | — | $15.9B | ||
| Q4 25 | $19.1B | $19.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $17.6B | $16.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $16.6B | $17.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $14.2B | $14.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | $16.2B | $17.6B | ||
| Q3 24 | $16.1B | $15.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $16.7B | $15.8B |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.4B | $5.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $2.3B | $1.7B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.2B | $2.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $2.0B | $1.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.8B | $2.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | $2.5B | $-330.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.7B | $1.8B |
| Q1 26 | — | 56.2% | ||
| Q4 25 | 30.5% | 60.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 33.8% | 57.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 34.8% | 58.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 37.1% | 55.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 36.3% | 59.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 37.5% | 56.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 39.2% | 56.8% |
| Q1 26 | — | — | ||
| Q4 25 | 13.9% | 21.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 17.3% | 14.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 17.3% | 15.3% | ||
| Q1 25 | 18.1% | 8.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 18.0% | 18.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.5% | -5.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 20.9% | 14.1% |
| Q1 26 | — | 7.6% | ||
| Q4 25 | 12.5% | 28.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 13.0% | 10.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | 13.2% | 12.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 14.1% | 7.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 17.2% | 16.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 15.3% | -2.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 16.1% | 11.6% |
| Q1 26 | — | $1.28 | ||
| Q4 25 | $5.11 | $5.90 | ||
| Q3 25 | $4.88 | $1.84 | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.62 | $2.31 | ||
| Q1 25 | $4.20 | $1.12 | ||
| Q4 24 | $5.76 | $3.11 | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.06 | $-0.36 | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.48 | $1.96 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $10.0B | $10.8B |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $66.4B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $21.3B | $33.1B |
| Total Assets | $98.6B | $156.2B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 2.01× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $10.8B | ||
| Q4 25 | $10.0B | $13.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.5B | $11.6B | ||
| Q2 25 | $5.4B | $11.9B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.6B | $11.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $6.9B | $13.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.6B | $13.2B | ||
| Q2 24 | $4.3B | $12.2B |
| Q1 26 | — | $66.4B | ||
| Q4 25 | — | $54.8B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $55.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $55.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $56.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $49.9B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $53.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $52.9B |
| Q1 26 | — | $33.1B | ||
| Q4 25 | $21.3B | $32.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | $20.7B | $27.9B | ||
| Q2 25 | $18.7B | $27.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $18.1B | $26.9B | ||
| Q4 24 | $19.5B | $27.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $19.4B | $24.4B | ||
| Q2 24 | $17.1B | $24.0B |
| Q1 26 | — | $156.2B | ||
| Q4 25 | $98.6B | $151.9B | ||
| Q3 25 | $93.7B | $146.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $90.3B | $148.6B | ||
| Q1 25 | $85.0B | $145.7B | ||
| Q4 24 | $87.8B | $137.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $86.3B | $134.3B | ||
| Q2 24 | $83.3B | $133.8B |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.01× | ||
| Q4 25 | — | 1.68× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.98× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 2.01× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 2.10× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.83× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 2.17× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 2.20× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $3.6B | $5.2B |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $2.7B | $2.2B |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 14.1% | 13.9% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 4.7% | 2.4% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 1.50× | 4.25× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $8.9B | $10.2B |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q1 26 | — | $5.2B | ||
| Q4 25 | $3.6B | $4.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.7B | $3.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.1B | $1.7B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.3B | $4.4B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.4B | $4.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.6B | $2.9B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.0B | $2.1B |
| Q1 26 | — | $2.2B | ||
| Q4 25 | $2.7B | $3.7B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.1B | $2.8B | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.6B | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | $579.0M | $4.1B | ||
| Q4 24 | $2.7B | $4.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.1B | $2.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | $2.7B | $1.8B |
| Q1 26 | — | 13.9% | ||
| Q4 25 | 14.1% | 18.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | 17.5% | 17.3% | ||
| Q2 25 | 15.5% | 8.8% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.1% | 28.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 16.6% | 22.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 19.4% | 17.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 16.1% | 11.7% |
| Q1 26 | — | 2.4% | ||
| Q4 25 | 4.7% | 1.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.7% | 1.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.3% | 1.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 5.0% | 1.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 4.3% | 1.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.8% | 1.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.0% | 1.4% |
| Q1 26 | — | 4.25× | ||
| Q4 25 | 1.50× | 0.72× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.63× | 1.77× | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.43× | 0.78× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.64× | 4.14× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.22× | 1.49× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.45× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.13× | 1.13× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
CAT
| Construction Industries | $6.9B | 36% |
| Resource Industries | $3.4B | 18% |
| Powergeneration | $3.2B | 17% |
| Oil And Gas Customer | $2.4B | 13% |
| Financial Products Segment | $1.1B | 6% |
| Industrial | $967.0M | 5% |
| Financial Products | $931.0M | 5% |
| Related Party | $190.0M | 1% |
IBM
| Software | $7.1B | 44% |
| Consulting | $5.3B | 33% |
| Infrastructure | $3.3B | 21% |
| Financing | $220.0M | 1% |
