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Side-by-side financial comparison of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Tesla, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($22.4B vs $19.1B, roughly 1.2× Caterpillar Inc.). Caterpillar Inc. runs the higher net margin — 12.5% vs 2.1%, a 10.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Caterpillar Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (18.0% vs 16.0%). Caterpillar Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($2.7B vs $1.4B). Over the past eight quarters, Caterpillar Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (10.0% CAGR vs -6.3%).

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.

Tesla, Inc. is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures, and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar shingles, and related products and services.

CAT vs TSLA — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
TSLA
TSLA
1.2× larger
TSLA
$22.4B
$19.1B
CAT
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CAT
CAT
+2.0% gap
CAT
18.0%
16.0%
TSLA
Higher net margin
CAT
CAT
10.4% more per $
CAT
12.5%
2.1%
TSLA
More free cash flow
CAT
CAT
$1.2B more FCF
CAT
$2.7B
$1.4B
TSLA
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CAT
CAT
Annualised
CAT
10.0%
-6.3%
TSLA

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Revenue
$19.1B
$22.4B
Net Profit
$2.4B
$477.0M
Gross Margin
30.5%
21.1%
Operating Margin
13.9%
4.2%
Net Margin
12.5%
2.1%
Revenue YoY
18.0%
16.0%
Net Profit YoY
-13.9%
17.0%
EPS (diluted)
$5.11
$0.13

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.

Revenue
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$22.4B
Q4 25
$19.1B
$24.9B
Q3 25
$17.6B
$28.1B
Q2 25
$16.6B
$22.5B
Q1 25
$14.2B
$19.3B
Q4 24
$16.2B
$25.7B
Q3 24
$16.1B
$25.2B
Q2 24
$16.7B
$25.5B
Net Profit
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$477.0M
Q4 25
$2.4B
$840.0M
Q3 25
$2.3B
$1.4B
Q2 25
$2.2B
$1.2B
Q1 25
$2.0B
$409.0M
Q4 24
$2.8B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$2.5B
$2.2B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$1.5B
Gross Margin
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
21.1%
Q4 25
30.5%
20.1%
Q3 25
33.8%
18.0%
Q2 25
34.8%
17.2%
Q1 25
37.1%
16.3%
Q4 24
36.3%
16.3%
Q3 24
37.5%
19.8%
Q2 24
39.2%
18.0%
Operating Margin
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
4.2%
Q4 25
13.9%
5.7%
Q3 25
17.3%
5.8%
Q2 25
17.3%
4.1%
Q1 25
18.1%
2.1%
Q4 24
18.0%
6.2%
Q3 24
19.5%
10.8%
Q2 24
20.9%
6.3%
Net Margin
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
2.1%
Q4 25
12.5%
3.4%
Q3 25
13.0%
4.9%
Q2 25
13.2%
5.2%
Q1 25
14.1%
2.1%
Q4 24
17.2%
9.0%
Q3 24
15.3%
8.6%
Q2 24
16.1%
5.8%
EPS (diluted)
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$0.13
Q4 25
$5.11
$0.24
Q3 25
$4.88
$0.39
Q2 25
$4.62
$0.33
Q1 25
$4.20
$0.12
Q4 24
$5.76
$0.66
Q3 24
$5.06
$0.62
Q2 24
$5.48
$0.42

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$10.0B
$81.7B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$7.5B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$21.3B
$74.7B
Total Assets
$98.6B
$125.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.10×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$81.7B
Q4 25
$10.0B
$44.1B
Q3 25
$7.5B
$41.6B
Q2 25
$5.4B
$36.8B
Q1 25
$3.6B
$37.0B
Q4 24
$6.9B
$36.6B
Q3 24
$5.6B
$33.6B
Q2 24
$4.3B
$30.7B
Total Debt
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$7.5B
Q4 25
$6.6B
Q3 25
$5.6B
Q2 25
$5.0B
Q1 25
$5.1B
Q4 24
$5.5B
Q3 24
$5.3B
Q2 24
$5.3B
Stockholders' Equity
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$74.7B
Q4 25
$21.3B
$82.1B
Q3 25
$20.7B
$80.0B
Q2 25
$18.7B
$77.3B
Q1 25
$18.1B
$74.7B
Q4 24
$19.5B
$72.9B
Q3 24
$19.4B
$69.9B
Q2 24
$17.1B
$66.5B
Total Assets
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$125.1B
Q4 25
$98.6B
$137.8B
Q3 25
$93.7B
$133.7B
Q2 25
$90.3B
$128.6B
Q1 25
$85.0B
$125.1B
Q4 24
$87.8B
$122.1B
Q3 24
$86.3B
$119.9B
Q2 24
$83.3B
$112.8B
Debt / Equity
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
0.10×
Q4 25
0.08×
Q3 25
0.07×
Q2 25
0.06×
Q1 25
0.07×
Q4 24
0.08×
Q3 24
0.08×
Q2 24
0.08×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$3.6B
$3.9B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$2.7B
$1.4B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
14.1%
6.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
4.7%
11.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.50×
8.25×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$8.9B
$7.0B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$3.9B
Q4 25
$3.6B
$3.8B
Q3 25
$3.7B
$6.2B
Q2 25
$3.1B
$2.5B
Q1 25
$1.3B
$2.2B
Q4 24
$3.4B
$4.8B
Q3 24
$3.6B
$6.3B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$3.6B
Free Cash Flow
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$2.7B
$1.4B
Q3 25
$3.1B
$4.0B
Q2 25
$2.6B
$146.0M
Q1 25
$579.0M
$664.0M
Q4 24
$2.7B
$2.0B
Q3 24
$3.1B
$2.7B
Q2 24
$2.7B
$1.3B
FCF Margin
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
6.5%
Q4 25
14.1%
5.7%
Q3 25
17.5%
14.2%
Q2 25
15.5%
0.6%
Q1 25
4.1%
3.4%
Q4 24
16.6%
7.9%
Q3 24
19.4%
10.9%
Q2 24
16.1%
5.3%
Capex Intensity
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
11.1%
Q4 25
4.7%
9.6%
Q3 25
3.7%
8.0%
Q2 25
3.3%
10.6%
Q1 25
5.0%
7.7%
Q4 24
4.3%
10.8%
Q3 24
2.8%
14.0%
Q2 24
2.0%
8.9%
Cash Conversion
CAT
CAT
TSLA
TSLA
Q1 26
8.25×
Q4 25
1.50×
4.54×
Q3 25
1.63×
4.54×
Q2 25
1.43×
2.17×
Q1 25
0.64×
5.27×
Q4 24
1.22×
2.08×
Q3 24
1.45×
2.89×
Q2 24
1.13×
2.44×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CAT
CAT

Construction Industries$6.9B36%
Resource Industries$3.4B18%
Powergeneration$3.2B17%
Oil And Gas Customer$2.4B13%
Financial Products Segment$1.1B6%
Industrial$967.0M5%
Financial Products$931.0M5%
Related Party$190.0M1%

TSLA
TSLA

Automotive Sales$15.5B69%
Services & Other$3.7B17%
Energy Generation And Storage$2.4B11%
Automotive Leasing$381.0M2%
Automotive Regulatory Credits$380.0M2%

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