CAT vs PYPL: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and PayPal Holdings, Inc. — 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
PayPal Holdings, Inc. · Financial Services
$52.71
+9.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B-
QuantHub Verdict
PYPL has more upside to fair value
(+9.1%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
PYPL |
| Current Price |
$808.99 |
$52.71 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$790.88 |
$57.50 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.2%
|
+9.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$372.6B |
$45.1B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
23.6x
|
6.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.0x
|
1.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
41.4x
|
7.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.0%
|
+4.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
33.9%
|
45.8%
|
| Operating Margin |
17.5%
|
18.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
54.1%
|
24.4%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.76% |
1.06% |
| FCF Yield |
2.41%
|
13.97%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Hold
|
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%…
PayPal operates a global digital-payments platform spanning branded checkout, Venmo, Braintree merchant processing, credit products and fraud-risk infrastructure across approximately 200 markets. Business quality is medium: its two-sided network, trusted brand, broad merchant distribution and risk capabilities remain meaningful assets, but its highest-value branded-checkout franchise is under com…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
PYPL |
| Zone Low |
$593.16 |
$43.12 |
| Zone High |
$672.25 |
$48.88 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|