Caterpillar vs Cummins

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Caterpillar and Cummins 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 $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 29.8x against 26.7x for Cummins.

Who comes out ahead

Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.

Caterpillar

CAT

8/11

Revenue growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change

Cummins

CMI

3/11

5-year growthPiotroski F-scoreNet debt / EBITDA

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	CAT FY25	CMI FY25
Size
Market cap	$320.1B	$72.3B
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	29.8x	26.7x
Piotroski F-score	6	7

Ten years

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

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

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.