Sifting through countless of stocks in the Machinery industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Caterpillar Inc. or Cummins Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. provides construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in the United States and internationally. The Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, cold planers, compactors, forestry machines, material handlers, motor graders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, telehandlers, track-type tractors, and track and wheel excavators; backhoe, compact track, skid steer, track-type, and wheel loaders; and related parts and work tools. Its Resource Industries segment provides electric rope and hydraulic shovels, draglines, rotary drills, hard rock vehicles, mining trucks, wheel loaders, off-highway and articulated trucks, wide-body trucks, wheel tractor scrapers and dozers, and landfill and soil compactors; machinery components, and wear and maintenance components; and technology products and services for fleet management, equipment management analytics, autonomous machine capabilities, safety services, and mining performance solutions. The Energy & Transportation segment offers reciprocating engine powered generator sets; reciprocating engines, drivetrain, and integrated systems and solutions; centrifugal gas compressors and related services; and diesel-electric locomotive components, and other rail-related products. Its Financial Products segment provides operating and finance leases, revolving charge accounts, installment sale contracts, repair/rebuild financing, working capital loans, and wholesale financing; and insurance and risk management products and services. The All Other segment offers parts distribution; logistics and distribution services; electronics and control systems; dealer portfolio management; brand management and marketing strategy; and digital investment services. It also provides mining software solutions. The company was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. Caterpillar Inc. was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Cummins Inc. offers various power solutions worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. It offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines; and drivetrain systems, including axles, drivelines, brakes, and suspension systems; and on- and off-highway, and other products. The company also provides aftertreatment technology and solutions comprising custom engineering systems and integrated controls, oxidation catalysts, particulate filters, and selective catalytic reduction systems, as well as engineered components, including dosers; turbochargers, fuel systems, and valvetrain technologies; electronic control modules, sensors, and supporting software; and automated manual transmissions, and automatic transmissions for internal combustion engines. In addition, it sells and offers support services power generation systems, high-horsepower engines, and heavy-duty and medium-duty engines; offers application engineering services, custom-designed assemblies, and in-shop and field-based repair services; and retail and wholesale aftermarket parts. Further, the company offers standby and prime power generators, controls, paralleling systems, and transfer switches; turnkey solutions for distributed generation and energy management applications using natural gas, diesel, battery energy storage systems, and newer alternative sustainable fuels; diesel and natural gas high-speed, high-horsepower engines; and A/C generator/alternator products. Additionally, it provides electrified power systems, including batteries, fuel cells, and electric powertrain technologies. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Cummins Engine Company and changed its name to Cummins Inc. in 2001. Cummins Inc. was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana.

Latest Machinery and Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc. Stock News

As of March 31, 2026, Caterpillar Inc. had a $329.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $3.4 million. Caterpillar Inc.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 114.89% in the past year.

Currently, Caterpillar Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 37.7. Caterpillar Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $67.6 billion with a 13.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 18.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $22.907 per share for the current fiscal year. Caterpillar Inc. currently has a 0.9% dividend yield.

Currently, Cummins Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 26.2. Cummins Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $33.7 billion with a 8.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $26.315 per share for the current fiscal year. Cummins Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Caterpillar Inc.	CAT	F
Cummins Inc.	CMI	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Caterpillar Inc. has a Value Score of 13, which is Ultra Expensive. Cummins Inc. has a Value Score of 28, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Caterpillar Inc. or Cummins Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Caterpillar Inc. or Cummins Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Caterpillar Inc.	CAT	A
Cummins Inc.	CMI	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Caterpillar Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong. Cummins Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Caterpillar Inc.	CAT	B
Cummins Inc.	CMI	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Caterpillar Inc. has a Quality Score of 71, which is Strong. Cummins Inc. has a Quality Score of 79, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Other Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Caterpillar Inc. or Cummins Inc. Stock?

Overall, Caterpillar Inc. stock has a Value Score of 13, Growth Score of 83 and Quality Score of 71.

Cummins Inc. stock has a Value Score of 28, Growth Score of 83 and Quality Score of 79.

Comparing Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.