CATERPILLAR INC vs LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION, two Industrial Machinery stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where CAT and LRCX diverge most: on debt / equity, CAT reads 0.00 and LRCX reads 0.35; on return on assets, CAT reads 9.9% and LRCX reads 32.3%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. What CAT's price implies is a demanding bet versus history and the cohort (whole-company basis). What LRCX's price implies is a somewhat stretched bet versus history (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | CAT | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $951.67 | $350.21 |
| Market cap | $443.3B | $440.3B |
| Sector | Industrial Machinery | Industrial Machinery |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| P/E | 47.4 | 66.2 |
| P/B | 23.76 | 41.60 |
| P/S | 6.27 | 20.31 |
| EV/EBITDA | 31.4 | 58.4 |
| Revenue growth | +12.3% | +26.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 49.8% |
| Operating margin | 17.7% | 35.0% |
| Net margin | 13.3% | 30.9% |
| Return on equity | 50.5% | 63.4% |
| Return on assets | 9.9% | 32.3% |
| Return on invested capital | 49.4% | 47.1% |
| FCF yield | 2.1% | 1.4% |
| Dividend yield | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.35 |
| Current ratio | 1.35 | 2.54 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 5.46 | 10.00 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.