CAT vs VST: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Caterpillar Inc. and Vistra Corp. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-08-06.
Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials
$940.12
-39.4% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Vistra Corp. · Utilities
$140.58
+20.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
VST has more upside to fair value
(+20.9%).
VST trades at a lower forward P/E
(15.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
CAT |
VST |
| Current Price |
$940.12 |
$140.58 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$569.47 |
$170.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-39.4%
|
+20.9%
|
| Market Cap |
$433.1B |
$47.4B |
| Forward P/E |
46.6x
|
15.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.7x
|
9.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
6.1x
|
2.9x
|
| Price / FCF |
37.8x
|
42.5x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+22.2%
|
+20.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
32.5%
|
12.7%
|
| Operating Margin |
16.6%
|
2.1%
|
| Return on Equity |
47.5%
|
35.0%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
2.64%
|
2.4%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Caterpillar Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of agricultural and construction machinery, operating within the Industrials sector. The company demonstrates high business quality with a durable competitive moat supported by strong brand recognition, cost advantages, and intangible assets. It posted robust revenue growth of 22.2% and earnings growth of 27.3% in the most recent quarter, reflecti…
Vistra is an integrated merchant power producer and retail electricity supplier with roughly 38,700 MW of generation across natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery storage, plus a roughly 4.3 million customer retail book (TXU and affiliated brands) across 20 states. The 2024 Energy Harbor deal made it the second-largest nuclear operator in the US, and that nuclear and gas fleet is now centr…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
CAT |
VST |
| Zone Low |
$427.10 |
$128.00 |
| Zone High |
$484.05 |
$145.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|