Caterpillar vs Cummins
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The short version
- Caterpillar is the larger business, with $67.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $33.7B for Cummins, about 2.0 times as much.
- Caterpillar grew revenue faster (4.3%, against −1.3%).
- Caterpillar kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.5% operating margin, against 12.0%).
- Caterpillar turned more of its sales into free cash flow (13.2% FCF margin, against 7.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Caterpillar’s earnings: a P/E of 29.6x against 26.4x for Cummins.
| Latest fiscal year | CAT · FY25 | CMI · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $317.7B | $71.7B |
| Revenue | $67.6B | $33.7B |
| Free cash flow | $8.9B | $2.4B |
| Net income | $8.9B | $3.0B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 4.3% | −1.3% |
| 5-year growth | 10.1% | 11.2% |
| Share count change | −3.5% | −0.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 33.8% | 25.3% |
| Operating margin | 16.5% | 12.0% |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 8.8% |
| FCF margin | 13.2% | 7.1% |
| Return on capital | 18.5% | 18.3% |
| Return on equity | 43.5% | 26.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $26.2B | $3.6B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.0x | 0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $7.9B | $1.1B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 29.6x | 26.4x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
CAT $38.5B
CMI $17.5B
FY17
CAT $45.5B
CMI $20.4B
FY18
CAT $54.7B
CMI $23.8B
FY19
CAT $53.8B
CMI $23.6B
FY20
CAT $41.7B
CMI $19.8B
FY21
CAT $51.0B
CMI $24.0B
FY22
CAT $59.4B
CMI $28.1B
FY23
CAT $67.1B
CMI $34.1B
FY24
CAT $64.8B
CMI $34.1B
FY25
CAT $67.6B
CMI $33.7B
CAT
CMI
Operating margin
FY16
CAT 3.0%
CMI 10.7%
FY17
CAT 9.8%
CMI 11.4%
FY18
CAT 15.2%
CMI 11.7%
FY19
CAT 15.4%
CMI 11.5%
FY20
CAT 10.9%
CMI 11.5%
FY21
CAT 13.5%
CMI 11.3%
FY22
CAT 13.3%
CMI 10.4%
FY23
CAT 19.3%
CMI 5.2%
FY24
CAT 20.2%
CMI 11.0%
FY25
CAT 16.5%
CMI 12.0%
CAT
CMI
Free cash flow
FY16
CAT $4.5B
CMI $1.4B
FY17
CAT $4.8B
CMI $1.8B
FY18
CAT $5.3B
CMI $1.7B
FY19
CAT $5.9B
CMI $2.5B
FY20
CAT $5.3B
CMI $2.2B
FY21
CAT $6.1B
CMI $1.5B
FY22
CAT $6.5B
CMI $1.0B
FY23
CAT $11.3B
CMI $2.8B
FY24
CAT $10.0B
CMI $279M
FY25
CAT $8.9B
CMI $2.4B
CAT
CMI
Return on capital
FY16
CAT 1.5%
CMI 18.7%
FY17
CAT 6.3%
CMI 14.5%
FY18
CAT 18.3%
CMI 25.0%
FY19
CAT 17.2%
CMI 23.5%
FY20
CAT 9.5%
CMI 19.5%
FY21
CAT 14.9%
CMI 22.8%
FY22
CAT 15.2%
CMI 18.3%
FY23
CAT 24.8%
CMI 6.4%
FY24
CAT 24.4%
CMI 21.2%
FY25
CAT 18.5%
CMI 18.3%
CAT
CMI
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.