CAT vs META: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc. โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-09-21.
Caterpillar Inc. ยท Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade C High Quality
VS
Meta Platforms, Inc. ยท Communication Services
$665.60
+21.4% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B+ High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
META has more upside to fair value (+21.4%). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric CAT META
Current Price $808.99 $665.60
Fair Value Estimate $790.88 $808.00
Upside to Fair Value -2.2% +21.4%
Market Cap $372.6B $1,695.6B
Forward P/E โ€” โ€”
EV / EBITDA 23.6x 16.7x
Price / Sales 5.0x 7.4x
Price / FCF 41.4x 41.3x
Revenue Growth YoY +24.0% +28.0%
Gross Margin 33.9% 81.7%
Operating Margin 17.5% 38.1%
Return on Equity 54.1% 29.7%
Dividend Yield 0.76% 0.32%
FCF Yield 2.41% 2.42%
Analyst Consensus Buy Strong Buy
Investment Thesis
CAT โ€” Caterpillar Inc.
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%โ€ฆ
META โ€” Meta Platforms, Inc.
Meta Platforms operates the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads ecosystem, monetizing its unmatched global audience primarily through digital advertising. Business quality is high, supported by 3.60 billion Family daily active people, AI-enhanced ad ranking, 81.7% TTM gross margin, 38.1% TTM operating margin, 29.8% TTM net margin and 29.7% ROE. Revenue grew 28.0% year over year iโ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric CAT META
Zone Low $593.16 $606.00
Zone High $672.25 $686.80
In Buy Zone? No Yes
โ† CAT Research    META Research โ†’    All Research