AAPL vs CAT
Apple Inc. and Caterpillar Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | AAPL | CAT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $416.2B | $67.6B |
| Net income | $112.0B | $8.9B |
| Gross margin | 46.9% | 99.9% |
| Net margin | 26.9% | 13.1% |
| Return on equity | 171.4% | 43.5% |
| Diluted EPS | $7.46 | $18.81 |
| Dividend / share | $1.02 | $5.94 |
| Payout ratio | 13.8% | 31.0% |
| Free cash flow | $98.8B | $8.9B |
| Equity | $73.7B | · |
| Net debt / equity | 0.74× | 1.23× |
| Current ratio | 0.89× | 1.44× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 8.7% | 10.1% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 14.3% | 24.2% |
AAPL bills 6.2× the revenue of CAT, and keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (26.9% against 13.1%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | AAPL | CAT |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $416.2B | $67.6B |
| FY2024 | $391.0B | $64.8B |
| FY2023 | $383.3B | $67.1B |
| FY2022 | $394.3B | $59.4B |
| FY2021 | $365.8B | $51.0B |
| FY2020 | $274.5B | $41.7B |
| FY2019 | $260.2B | $53.8B |
| FY2018 | $265.6B | $54.7B |
| FY2017 | $229.2B | $45.5B |
| FY2016 | $215.6B | $38.5B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | AAPL | CAT |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $112.0B | $8.9B |
| FY2024 | $93.7B | $10.8B |
| FY2023 | $97.0B | $10.3B |
| FY2022 | $99.8B | $6.7B |
| FY2021 | $94.7B | $6.5B |
| FY2020 | $57.4B | $3.0B |
| FY2019 | $55.3B | $6.1B |
| FY2018 | $59.5B | $6.1B |
| FY2017 | $48.4B | $759.0M |
| FY2016 | $45.7B | $-59.0M |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$348,572,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2024 | +$326,226,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2023 | +$316,225,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2022 | +$334,901,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2021 | +$314,846,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2020 | +$232,767,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2019 | +$206,374,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2018 | +$210,873,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2017 | +$183,772,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2016 | +$177,102,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2015 | +$186,704,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2014 | +$127,611,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2013 | +$115,254,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2012 | +$90,633,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2011 | +$48,111,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2010 | +$22,637,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2009 | +$10,509,000,000 | AAPL |
| FY2008 | −$13,833,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2007 | −$20,380,000,000 | CAT |
The higher-revenue side has changed between AAPL and CAT over this period. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +13.8 pp | AAPL |
| FY2024 | +7.3 pp | AAPL |
| FY2023 | +9.9 pp | AAPL |
| FY2022 | +14.0 pp | AAPL |
| FY2021 | +13.1 pp | AAPL |
| FY2020 | +13.7 pp | AAPL |
| FY2019 | +9.9 pp | AAPL |
| FY2018 | +11.2 pp | AAPL |
| FY2017 | +19.4 pp | AAPL |
| FY2016 | +21.3 pp | AAPL |
| FY2015 | +17.5 pp | AAPL |
| FY2014 | +17.1 pp | AAPL |
| FY2013 | +14.8 pp | AAPL |
| FY2012 | +18.0 pp | AAPL |
| FY2011 | +15.7 pp | AAPL |
| FY2010 | +15.0 pp | AAPL |
| FY2009 | +16.6 pp | AAPL |
| FY2008 | +9.3 pp | AAPL |
| FY2007 | +6.3 pp | AAPL |
AAPL has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 19 fiscal years.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CAT's net margin has been more volatile than AAPL's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 4.4 percentage points of standard deviation against 3.2.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
AAPL led in net margin in every one of the 19 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
AAPL's return on equity has been more volatile than CAT's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 55.8 percentage points of standard deviation against 16.7.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in return on equity changed hands between AAPL and CAT over these 19 fiscal years — AAPL led in 16 and CAT in 3.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.