Caterpillar vs Oshkosh

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KIRA’s take AI analyst

I put Caterpillar and Oshkosh 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 $10.4B for Oshkosh, about 6.5 times as much.
Caterpillar grew revenue faster (4.3%, against −2.9%).
Caterpillar kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.5% operating margin, against 9.0%).
Caterpillar turned more of its sales into free cash flow (13.2% FCF margin, against 5.9%).
Caterpillar earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (18.5%, against 14.8%).
Investors pay more for each dollar of Caterpillar’s earnings: a P/E of 29.8x against 14.8x for Oshkosh.

Who comes out ahead

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

Caterpillar

CAT

10/11

Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change

Oshkosh

OSK

1/11

Net debt / EBITDA

Side by side

Best in the row

Latest fiscal year	CAT FY25	OSK FY25
Size
Market cap	$320.1B	$8.4B
Revenue	$67.6B	$10.4B
Free cash flow	$8.9B	$618M
Net income	$8.9B	$647M
Growth
Revenue growth	4.3%	−2.9%
5-year growth	10.1%	8.7%
Share count change	−3.5%	−1.9%
Profitability
Gross margin	33.8%	17.5%
Operating margin	16.5%	9.0%
Net margin	13.1%	6.2%
FCF margin	13.2%	5.9%
Return on capital	18.5%	14.8%
Return on equity	43.5%	14.9%
Balance sheet
Net debt	$26.2B	$692M
Net debt / EBITDA	2.0x	0.6x
Dividends and buybacks	$7.9B	$408M
Valuation & quality
P/E	29.8x	14.8x
Piotroski F-score	6	5

Ten years

Revenue

FY16

CAT $38.5B

OSK $6.3B

FY17

CAT $45.5B

OSK $6.8B

FY18

CAT $54.7B

OSK $7.7B

FY19

CAT $53.8B

OSK $8.4B

FY20

CAT $41.7B

OSK $6.9B

FY21

CAT $51.0B

OSK $7.7B

FY22

CAT $59.4B

OSK $8.3B

FY23

CAT $67.1B

OSK $9.7B

FY24

CAT $64.8B

OSK $10.7B

FY25

CAT $67.6B

OSK $10.4B

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CAT OSK

Operating margin

FY16

CAT 3.0%

OSK 5.8%

FY17

CAT 9.8%

OSK 6.9%

FY18

CAT 15.2%

OSK 8.5%

FY19

CAT 15.4%

OSK 9.5%

FY20

CAT 10.9%

OSK 7.1%

FY21

CAT 13.5%

OSK 7.7%

FY22

CAT 13.3%

OSK 4.5%

FY23

CAT 19.3%

OSK 8.7%

FY24

CAT 20.2%

OSK 9.4%

FY25

CAT 16.5%

OSK 9.0%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CAT OSK

Free cash flow

FY16

CAT $4.5B

OSK $491M

FY17

CAT $4.8B

OSK $161M

FY18

CAT $5.3B

OSK $341M

FY19

CAT $5.9B

OSK $421M

FY20

CAT $5.3B

OSK $215M

FY21

CAT $6.1B

OSK $1.1B

FY22

CAT $6.5B

OSK $332M

FY23

CAT $11.3B

OSK $274M

FY24

CAT $10.0B

OSK $269M

FY25

CAT $8.9B

OSK $618M

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CAT OSK

Return on capital

FY16

CAT 1.5%

OSK 9.7%

FY17

CAT 6.3%

OSK 12.5%

FY18

CAT 18.3%

OSK 18.7%

FY19

CAT 17.2%

OSK 21.0%

FY20

CAT 9.5%

OSK 11.7%

FY21

CAT 14.9%

OSK 18.4%

FY22

CAT 15.2%

OSK 8.2%

FY23

CAT 24.8%

OSK 17.6%

FY24

CAT 24.4%

OSK 17.5%

FY25

CAT 18.5%

OSK 14.8%

FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25

CAT OSK

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.