CAT vs PANW: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-26.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$808.99
-2.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$374.74
-5.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
CAT has more upside to fair value
(-2.2%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
PANW |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$374.74 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$355.11 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
-5.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$305.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
569.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
26.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
64.0x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+34.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
70.4%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
6.1%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
1.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
1.56%
|
| 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%…
Palo Alto Networks is a global cybersecurity leader built around next-generation firewalls, the Panorama management platform, and a broad subscription portfolio spanning threat prevention, cloud security, secure access, and security analytics, sold to medium and large enterprises, service providers, and governments through direct and channel distribution. The business quality is genuinely high on…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
PANW |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$266.33 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$301.84 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|