CAT vs IBM
Caterpillar Inc. and International Business Machines Corp., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | CAT | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.6B | $67.5B |
| Net income | $8.9B | $10.6B |
| Gross margin | 99.9% | 58.2% |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 15.7% |
| Return on equity | 43.5% | 35.3% |
| Diluted EPS | $18.81 | $11.17 |
| Dividend / share | $5.94 | $6.71 |
| Payout ratio | 31.0% | 59.0% |
| Free cash flow | $8.9B | $12.1B |
| Equity | · | $32.6B |
| Net debt / equity | 1.23× | 1.46× |
| Current ratio | 1.44× | 0.96× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 10.1% | 4.1% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | 24.2% | 13.6% |
CAT and IBM book revenue within 15% of each other, and IBM keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (15.7% 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 | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $67.6B | $67.5B |
| FY2024 | $64.8B | $62.8B |
| FY2023 | $67.1B | $61.9B |
| FY2022 | $59.4B | $60.5B |
| FY2021 | $51.0B | $57.4B |
| FY2020 | $41.7B | $55.2B |
| FY2019 | $53.8B | $57.7B |
| FY2018 | $54.7B | $79.6B |
| FY2017 | $45.5B | $79.1B |
| FY2016 | $38.5B | $79.9B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | CAT | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $8.9B | $10.6B |
| FY2024 | $10.8B | $6.0B |
| FY2023 | $10.3B | $7.5B |
| FY2022 | $6.7B | $1.6B |
| FY2021 | $6.5B | $5.7B |
| FY2020 | $3.0B | $5.6B |
| FY2019 | $6.1B | $9.4B |
| FY2018 | $6.1B | $8.7B |
| FY2017 | $759.0M | $5.8B |
| FY2016 | $-59.0M | $11.9B |
19 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | +$54,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2024 | +$2,056,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2023 | +$5,200,000,000 | CAT |
| FY2022 | −$1,103,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2021 | −$6,379,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2020 | −$13,431,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2019 | −$3,914,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2018 | −$24,869,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2017 | −$33,677,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2016 | −$41,382,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2015 | −$34,730,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2014 | −$37,609,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2013 | −$42,711,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2012 | −$36,999,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2011 | −$46,778,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2010 | −$57,282,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2009 | −$63,362,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2008 | −$52,306,000,000 | IBM |
| FY2007 | −$53,828,000,000 | IBM |
The higher-revenue side has changed between CAT and IBM over this period. The gap has narrowed 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 | −2.5 pp | IBM |
| FY2024 | +7.0 pp | CAT |
| FY2023 | +3.3 pp | CAT |
| FY2022 | +8.6 pp | CAT |
| FY2021 | +2.7 pp | CAT |
| FY2020 | −2.9 pp | IBM |
| FY2019 | −5.0 pp | IBM |
| FY2018 | +0.3 pp | CAT |
| FY2017 | −5.6 pp | IBM |
| FY2016 | −15.0 pp | IBM |
| FY2015 | −10.8 pp | IBM |
| FY2014 | −8.5 pp | IBM |
| FY2013 | −9.9 pp | IBM |
| FY2012 | −7.5 pp | IBM |
| FY2011 | −6.5 pp | IBM |
| FY2010 | −8.4 pp | IBM |
| FY2009 | −11.5 pp | IBM |
| FY2008 | −4.9 pp | IBM |
| FY2007 | −2.7 pp | IBM |
The higher net margin has changed hands between CAT and IBM over this period.
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 IBM's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 4.4 percentage points of standard deviation against 3.5.
19 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 IBM over these 19 fiscal years — CAT led in 5 and IBM in 14.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
IBM's return on equity has been more volatile than CAT's over the 19 comparable fiscal years — 24.3 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 CAT and IBM over these 19 fiscal years — CAT led in 6 and IBM in 13.
19 of 19 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.