CAT vs CSCO
Caterpillar Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | CAT | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.6B | $56.7B |
| Net income | $8.9B | $10.2B |
| Gross margin | 99.9% | 64.9% |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 18.0% |
| Return on equity | 43.5% | 22.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $18.81 | $2.55 |
| Dividend / share | $5.94 | $1.62 |
| Payout ratio | 31.0% | 63.2% |
| Free cash flow | $8.9B | $13.3B |
| Equity | · | $46.8B |
| Net debt / equity | 1.23× | 0.35× |
| Current ratio | 1.44× | 1.00× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 10.1% | 2.8% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 24.2% | −1.9% |
CAT bills 1.2× the revenue of CSCO, and CSCO keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (18.0% 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 | CAT | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $67.6B | $56.7B |
| FY2024 | $64.8B | $53.8B |
| FY2023 | $67.1B | $57.0B |
| FY2022 | $59.4B | $51.6B |
| FY2021 | $51.0B | $49.8B |
| FY2020 | $41.7B | $49.3B |
| FY2019 | $53.8B | $51.9B |
| FY2018 | $54.7B | $49.3B |
| FY2017 | $45.5B | $48.0B |
| FY2016 | $38.5B | $49.2B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | CAT | CSCO |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.9B | $10.2B |
| FY2024 | $10.8B | $10.3B |
| FY2023 | $10.3B | $12.6B |
| FY2022 | $6.7B | $11.8B |
| FY2021 | $6.5B | $10.6B |
| FY2020 | $3.0B | $11.2B |
| FY2019 | $6.1B | $11.6B |
| FY2018 | $6.1B | $110.0M |
| FY2017 | $759.0M | $9.6B |
| FY2016 | $-59.0M | $10.7B |
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$10,935,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2024 | +$11,006,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2023 | +$10,062,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2022 | +$7,870,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2021 | +$1,153,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2020 | −$7,553,000,000 | CSCO |
| FY2019 | +$1,896,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2018 | +$5,392,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2017 | −$2,543,000,000 | CSCO |
| FY2016 | −$10,710,000,000 | CSCO |
| FY2015 | −$2,150,000,000 | CSCO |
| FY2014 | +$8,042,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2013 | +$7,049,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2012 | +$19,814,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2011 | +$16,920,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2010 | +$2,548,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2009 | −$3,721,000,000 | CSCO |
| FY2008 | +$11,784,000,000 | CAT |
The higher-revenue side has changed between CAT and CSCO over this period. The gap has narrowed since the earliest year compared.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
18 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | −4.8 pp | CSCO |
| FY2024 | −2.5 pp | CSCO |
| FY2023 | −6.7 pp | CSCO |
| FY2022 | −11.6 pp | CSCO |
| FY2021 | −8.5 pp | CSCO |
| FY2020 | −15.6 pp | CSCO |
| FY2019 | −11.1 pp | CSCO |
| FY2018 | +11.0 pp | CAT |
| FY2017 | −18.3 pp | CSCO |
| FY2016 | −22.0 pp | CSCO |
| FY2015 | −12.9 pp | CSCO |
| FY2014 | −12.2 pp | CSCO |
| FY2013 | −13.7 pp | CSCO |
| FY2012 | −8.8 pp | CSCO |
| FY2011 | −6.7 pp | CSCO |
| FY2010 | −12.9 pp | CSCO |
| FY2009 | −14.4 pp | CSCO |
| FY2008 | −13.4 pp | CSCO |
The higher net margin has changed hands between CAT and CSCO over this period.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CSCO's net margin has been more volatile than CAT's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 5.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 4.5.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
The lead in net margin changed hands between CAT and CSCO over these 18 fiscal years — CAT led in 1 and CSCO in 17.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
CAT's return on equity has been more volatile than CSCO's over the 18 comparable fiscal years — 17.0 percentage points of standard deviation against 7.6.
18 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 CAT and CSCO over these 18 fiscal years — CAT led in 13 and CSCO in 5.
18 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.