CAT vs MA: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Mastercard Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-21.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$574.42
+25.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade A-
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MA has more upside to fair value
(+25.0%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
MA |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$574.42 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$718.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
+25.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$503.8B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
23.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
14.4x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
30.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+14.1%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
100%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
59.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
232.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
0.59% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
3.25%
|
| 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%…
Mastercard operates a global payments network that connects issuers, acquirers, merchants and consumers across more than 200 countries and territories, monetizing payment volumes, cross-border activity and higher-growth value-added services. Business quality is high because its two-sided network, trusted authorization-clearing-settlement infrastructure, brand, security capabilities and broad acce…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
MA |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$538.50 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$610.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|