How do CAT and CNHI differ fundamentally?

Caterpillar focuses primarily on construction and mining equipment (excavators, bulldozers, mining trucks) with power systems. CNH Industrial focuses primarily on agricultural equipment (tractors, combines) with secondary construction equipment. They compete directly in construction equipment (Case Construction vs Cat), but their primary markets are largely non-overlapping: Caterpillar dominates mining/large construction; CNH is the primary alternative to Deere in farm equipment.

What metrics matter most when comparing CAT and CNHI?

For Caterpillar, track construction and mining equipment order and backlog trends, dealer inventory levels (high inventory signals future revenue pressure), and services revenue growth. For CNH, track North American large ag equipment retail orders, farm income indices (USDA farm income forecasts are leading indicators), and precision agriculture software subscription metrics.

Which is better for long-term investors — CAT or CNHI?

Caterpillar's multi-decade track record as an industrial compounder, combined with infrastructure spending tailwinds and energy transition mining equipment demand, makes it the higher-quality long-term holding. CNH compounds well through agricultural cycles but with more dependence on farm commodity price cycles. Both reward patient, long-term industrial investors who can hold through cyclical down-periods.

Data as of: September 19, 2026

brimindinvest.com / compare / cat-vs-cnhiLIVE

CAT

Caterpillar Inc. · Industrials

$808.99

-0.88% this month

VERSUS

COMPARE

CNHI

CNH Industrial N.V. · Industrials

N/A

N/A this month

Comparison scoreboard

MIXED SETUP

AI Scorei

CAT 69.3

CNHI N/A

1Y Returni

CAT +73.25%

CNHI N/A

Fwd P/Ei

CAT 24.75

CNHI N/A

Target Up.i

CAT +21.91%

CNHI N/A

Op. Margini

CAT 22.18%

CNHI N/A

Metrics last refreshed: 9/19/2026

Quick take

CAT vs CNHI Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

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Caterpillar and CNH Industrial are both major heavy equipment manufacturers, but in partially overlapping markets. Caterpillar dominates mining and construction equipment. CNH focuses primarily on agricultural equipment (Case IH, New Holland) with secondary construction equipment (Case Construction) businesses. Both are highly cyclical — construction and farm equipment demand follow economic and commodity cycles.

CAT vs CNHI is the world's largest construction and mining equipment manufacturer with an unmatched dealer network (Caterpillar) versus the agricultural equipment duopolist with Case IH and New Holland competing with Deere in global farm machinery and precision agriculture (CNH Industrial) — construction/mining equipment scale vs agricultural equipment focus.

Live analysis · updated 9/19/2026

CAT and CNHI are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.

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Normalized 1Y performance

CAT

CNHI

Not enough data to chart yet.

Recent returns

CAT

CNHI

Analyst price targets & sentiment

Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.

CAT · 25 analysts

STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL

Buy (2.1/5.0)

14 Buy / 12 Hold / 2 Sell

Price target range

analyst low$283.00
analyst mean$975.61
current price$808.99

+21.9% upside to analyst mean

CNHI

Price target data unavailable

N/A

Who should consider this stock?

CAT may suit investors who:

prefer the world's largest construction equipment manufacturer with unmatched dealer network creating service infrastructure advantages that persist through economic cycles
value Caterpillar's mining equipment exposure to critical minerals demand driven by EV battery metal extraction (copper, lithium, cobalt) as an energy transition secular theme
want blue-chip industrial dividend with 30+ consecutive dividend increases — Caterpillar has been a reliable dividend grower
are comfortable with construction equipment cyclicality, China market weakness from property sector downturn, and emerging market competition from lower-cost Chinese manufacturers

CNHI may suit investors who:

prefer agricultural equipment exposure as the primary alternative to John Deere globally through Case IH and New Holland brand dealer networks
value CNH's precision agriculture technology investments as a digital farming subscription revenue opportunity alongside equipment sales
want European industrial holding with Iveco spinoff simplifying CNH into a cleaner agricultural + construction equipment focus
are comfortable with agricultural income cyclicality, John Deere precision agriculture competitive pressure, and weaker construction equipment competitive position vs Caterpillar

Performance & AI score

Performance & AI score
Metric	CAT	CNHI
AI scorei	69.3	N/A
AI ranki	#49	N/A
Latest closei	$808.99	N/A
1M returni	-0.88%	N/A
6M returni	+17.47%	N/A
1Y returni	+73.25%	N/A

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
Period	CAT	CNHI
1Y ago	$17.32K (+73.2%) started 2025-09-18	N/A
5Y ago	$49.22K (+392.2%) started 2021-09-20	N/A
10Y ago	$152.65K (+1426.5%) started 2016-09-19	N/A

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential

Valuation & upside potential
Metric	CAT	CNHI
Market capi	$367.85B	N/A
Trailing P/Ei	34.48	N/A
Forward P/Ei	24.75	N/A
Price/Salesi	2.63	0.58
EV/Revenuei	5.45	N/A
Analyst targeti	$975.61	N/A
Target upsidei	+21.91%	N/A

Full DCF model for CAT

Growth, profitability & risk

Growth, profitability & risk
Metric	CAT	CNHI
Revenue growthi	24.00%	N/A
Earnings growthi	68.20%	N/A
EPS growthi	+68.20%	N/A
FCF margini	+6.76%	N/A
Operating margini	22.18%	N/A
Profit margini	14.51%	N/A
ROIC proxyi	56.97%	N/A
Return on equityi	56.97%	N/A
Dividend yieldi	0.80%	N/A
Payout ratioi	26.01%	N/A
Dividend growth streaki	No increase yet	N/A
Betai	1.60	1.15
Debt/equityi	232.78	N/A
Current ratioi	1.37	N/A
Quick ratioi	0.78	N/A

Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot

CAT max drawdowni26.83%

CNHI max drawdowniN/A

CAT max wkly dropi11.99%

CNHI max wkly dropiN/A

5Y risk snapshot

CAT max drawdowni34.05%

CNHI max drawdowniN/A

CAT max wkly dropi17.13%

CNHI max wkly dropiN/A

10Y risk snapshot

CAT max drawdowni43.36%

CNHI max drawdowniN/A

CAT max wkly dropi24.36%

CNHI max wkly dropiN/A

Performance metrics by period

Performance metrics by period
Period	Metric	CAT	CNHI
1Y	Growthi	+73.25%	N/A
	CAGRi	+73.31%	N/A
	Volatilityi	39.76%	N/A
	Sharpe ratioi	1.47	N/A
	Sortino ratioi	2.32	N/A
	Max drawdowni	26.83%	N/A
	Current drawdowni	24.03%	N/A
	Avg drawdowni	6.89%	N/A
	Ulcer Indexi	10.50%	N/A
	Max daily dropi	6.91%	N/A
	Max wkly dropi	11.99%	N/A
5Y	Growthi	+356.23%	N/A
	CAGRi	+35.51%	N/A
	Volatilityi	31.76%	N/A
	Sharpe ratioi	0.98	N/A
	Sortino ratioi	1.48	N/A
	Max drawdowni	34.05%	N/A
	Current drawdowni	24.03%	N/A
	Avg drawdowni	8.66%	N/A
	Ulcer Indexi	11.59%	N/A
	Max daily dropi	8.64%	N/A
	Max wkly dropi	17.13%	N/A
10Y	Growthi	+1114.96%	N/A
	CAGRi	+28.38%	N/A
	Volatilityi	31.47%	N/A
	Sharpe ratioi	0.81	N/A
	Sortino ratioi	1.19	N/A
	Max drawdowni	43.36%	N/A
	Current drawdowni	24.03%	N/A
	Avg drawdowni	10.65%	N/A
	Ulcer Indexi	13.89%	N/A
	Max daily dropi	14.28%	N/A
	Max wkly dropi	24.36%	N/A

AI Prediction Signali

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Next 5 trading days

CAT

+2.8%BUY

CNHI

+1.1%HOLD

Next 30 trading days

CAT

+6.4%BUY

CNHI

+3.2%HOLD

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Business comparison

Business comparison
Category	CAT	CNHI
Company	Caterpillar Inc.	CNH Industrial N.V.
Sector	Industrials	Industrials
Industry	Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery	N/A
Core business	Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, power systems, and locomotives. Key product categories include excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, articulated trucks, and mining trucks used in construction, infrastructure, and resource extraction globally. Caterpillar's dealer network of 3,800+ locations in 190 countries provides exceptional service infrastructure. Cat Financial (equipment financing and insurance) enhances dealer channel and customer loyalty. Infrastructure spending globally (roads, bridges, data centers) is Caterpillar's primary demand driver.	CNH Industrial manufactures agricultural equipment (Case IH, New Holland brands), construction equipment (Case Construction Equipment), and commercial vehicles (Iveco trucks, FPT Industrial engines). CNH's agricultural equipment segment is its largest and most profitable — farm machinery including tractors, combines, and precision agriculture technology. CNH is competing with Deere in the precision agriculture software market with AFS Connect and PLM Intelligence platforms. CNH spun off Iveco Group in 2022 to focus on agricultural and construction equipment.
Investor focus	Investors track revenue by segment (Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation), construction machinery dealer inventory levels (high inventory = near-term pricing pressure), and services revenue growth (parts, maintenance) which is more recurring than equipment sales.	Investors track agricultural equipment demand cycles, precision agriculture technology adoption, North America and European farm income (the demand driver for new equipment), and construction equipment recovery.

CAT strengths

World's largest construction equipment dealer network — 3,800+ authorized dealers create unmatched service infrastructure that competitors cannot replicate even with better products
Services and parts revenue (recurring, high-margin) growing as a percentage of total — more predictable than equipment sales through economic cycles
Mining equipment demand driven by energy transition critical minerals (copper, lithium, cobalt) — electric vehicle demand is creating new mine openings and Caterpillar equipment purchases

CNHI strengths

Agricultural equipment duopoly with Deere — CNH's Case IH and New Holland brands are the primary alternatives to John Deere globally with strong dealer networks in the Americas, Europe, and Australia
Precision agriculture technology (AFS Connect, PLM Intelligence) provides software-driven loyalty and recurring subscription revenue as farmers invest in data-driven farming optimization
Iveco spinoff created a cleaner agricultural + construction equipment pure-play — CNH's simplified structure allows management focus on its core businesses

Risks to watch — CAT

Construction equipment demand is highly cyclical — economic slowdowns reduce construction starts and equipment purchases significantly
China construction market weakness — Chinese property sector downturn has reduced heavy equipment demand in the world's largest construction market
Deere and Komatsu are formidable global competitors; Chinese manufacturers (XCMG, Sany) are gaining share in emerging markets on lower price

Risks to watch — CNHI

Agricultural equipment demand is highly cyclical — North American farm income determines equipment purchase decisions, and current farm income is declining from COVID-era highs
John Deere's stronger precision agriculture platform (Operations Center) and brand recognition create competitive pressure in technology-driven farm equipment adoption
CNH's construction equipment segment is smaller and less competitive than Caterpillar — the construction segment is not a meaningful competitive moat for CNH

Frequently asked questions

Caterpillar has been the superior quality investment — its construction and mining equipment scale, dealer network, and services revenue create more durable compounding than CNH's agricultural focus. CNH is excellent in agricultural equipment but is more dependent on farm income cycles. For the highest-quality industrial equipment compounding, Caterpillar; for agricultural equipment cycle exposure with precision farming optionality, CNH.

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