Caterpillar vs Paccar
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Caterpillar and Paccar side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Caterpillar is the larger business, with $67.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $28.4B for Paccar, about 2.4 times as much.
- Caterpillar grew revenue faster (4.3%, against −15.5%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Caterpillar’s earnings: a P/E of 29.8x against 21.9x for Paccar.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 7 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Caterpillar
CAT
7/7
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equityShare count change
Paccar
PCAR
0/7
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CAT FY25 | PCAR FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $320.1B | $55.1B |
| Revenue | $67.6B | $28.4B |
| Free cash flow | $8.9B | $3.7B |
| Net income | $8.9B | $2.4B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.3% | −15.5% |
| 5-year growth | 10.1% | 8.7% |
| Share count change | −3.5% | 0.0% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 33.8% | 20.1% |
| Operating margin | 16.5% | — |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 8.4% |
| FCF margin | 13.2% | 12.9% |
| Return on capital | 18.5% | — |
| Return on equity | 43.5% | 12.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $26.2B | — |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.0x | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $7.9B | $2.3B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 29.8x | 21.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | — |
Ten years
Revenue
FY16
CAT $38.5B
PCAR $17.0B
FY17
CAT $45.5B
PCAR $19.5B
FY18
CAT $54.7B
PCAR $23.5B
FY19
CAT $53.8B
PCAR $25.6B
FY20
CAT $41.7B
PCAR $18.7B
FY21
CAT $51.0B
PCAR $23.5B
FY22
CAT $59.4B
PCAR $28.8B
FY23
CAT $67.1B
PCAR $35.1B
FY24
CAT $64.8B
PCAR $33.7B
FY25
CAT $67.6B
PCAR $28.4B
CAT
PCAR
Operating margin
FY16
CAT 3.0%
PCAR —
FY17
CAT 9.8%
PCAR —
FY18
CAT 15.2%
PCAR —
FY19
CAT 15.4%
PCAR —
FY20
CAT 10.9%
PCAR —
FY21
CAT 13.5%
PCAR —
FY22
CAT 13.3%
PCAR —
FY23
CAT 19.3%
PCAR —
FY24
CAT 20.2%
PCAR —
FY25
CAT 16.5%
PCAR —
CAT
PCAR
Free cash flow
FY16
CAT $4.5B
PCAR $1.9B
FY17
CAT $4.8B
PCAR $2.3B
FY18
CAT $5.3B
PCAR $2.5B
FY19
CAT $5.9B
PCAR $2.3B
FY20
CAT $5.3B
PCAR $2.4B
FY21
CAT $6.1B
PCAR $1.6B
FY22
CAT $6.5B
PCAR $2.5B
FY23
CAT $11.3B
PCAR $3.5B
FY24
CAT $10.0B
PCAR $3.8B
FY25
CAT $8.9B
PCAR $3.7B
CAT
PCAR
Return on capital
FY16
CAT 1.5%
PCAR —
FY17
CAT 6.3%
PCAR —
FY18
CAT 18.3%
PCAR —
FY19
CAT 17.2%
PCAR —
FY20
CAT 9.5%
PCAR —
FY21
CAT 14.9%
PCAR —
FY22
CAT 15.2%
PCAR —
FY23
CAT 24.8%
PCAR —
FY24
CAT 24.4%
PCAR —
FY25
CAT 18.5%
PCAR —
CAT
PCAR
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.