CAT vs DHR: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Danaher Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-23.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Danaher Corporation · Healthcare
$221.12
+29.6% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
DHR has more upside to fair value
(+29.6%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
DHR |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$221.12 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$286.52 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
+29.6%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$155.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
24.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
6.2x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
28.5x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+5.5%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
58.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
20.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
7.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
3.51%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Caterpillar is the world's premier manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas power units, and industrial gas turbines, organized across Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation, and Financial Products, with 118,000 employees and a century-old brand. Business quality is high: return on equity of 54.1%, TTM operating margin of 17.5%…
Danaher is a diversified life-sciences and diagnostics platform spanning three segments: Life Sciences (mass spectrometers, flow cytometry, genomics, bioprocess technologies), Diagnostics (chemistry, immunoassay, microbiology, hematology, molecular and pathology systems), and Environmental & Applied Solutions (water quality and product-identification instrumentation). The business quality is high…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
DHR |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$214.89 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$243.54 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|