Caterpillar vs Deere (CAT vs DE)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Caterpillar is the larger company by revenue ($67.6B vs $45.7B) and market value ($358.2B vs $182.3B). Caterpillar has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+32.6% cumulative vs +3.8%). Caterpillar trades at the lower trailing P/E (34.4x vs 36.4x).
About Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc manufactures construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. The company serves customers in industries such as construction, mining, oil and gas, power generation, marine, and rail through its Machinery, Power & Energy, Construction Industries, and Resource Industries segments. It also offers financing and insurance services to customers and dealers through its Financial Products segment.
About Deere
Deere & Company, commonly known as John Deere, manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry equipment. Its main products include tractors, harvesters, cotton pickers, sugarcane harvesters, specialty and compact tractors, turf equipment, backhoe loaders, excavators, and roadbuilding machinery. The company serves production-scale crop growers, dairy and livestock producers, turf and utility customers, and construction and forestry operators, offering integrated technology solutions and financial services.
Head to head (CAT FY2025 vs DE FY2025)
| Metric | CATFY2025 | DEFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $67.59B | $45.68B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 4.3% | -11.7% |
| Gross margin | 33.8% | — |
| Operating margin | 16.5% | — |
| Net margin | 13.1% | 11.0% |
| Net income | $8.88B | $5.03B |
| Diluted EPS | $18.81 | $18.50 |
| FCF margin | 13.2% | 13.4% |
| ROE | 41.7% | 19.4% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 1.44× | — |
| Market cap | $358.16B | $182.29B |
| P/E | 34.4× | 36.4× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (CAT FY2025, DE FY2025). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAT | $50.97B | $59.43B | $67.06B | $64.81B | $67.59B |
| DE | $44.02B | $52.58B | $61.25B | $51.72B | $45.68B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 684 Industrials companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | CAT | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 13.1%82nd percentile of 645 | 11.0%78th percentile of 645 |
| FCF margin | 13.2%80th percentile of 562 | 13.4%81st percentile of 562 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +4.3%50th percentile of 668 | -11.7%12th percentile of 668 |
| ROE | 41.7%96th percentile of 600 | 19.4%81st percentile of 600 |
| P/E | 34.4×73rd percentile of 434 | 36.4×75th percentile of 434 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.16d31st percentile of 676 | 5.98d83rd percentile of 676 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | CAT | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 6.5M | 5.1M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -5.8% | -19.4% |
| Days to cover | 2.16 | 5.98 |
| As of settlement | 2026-08-14 | 2026-08-14 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | CAT | DE |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 14 ($26.2M) | 15 ($20.3M) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
12 tracked 13F managers hold both Caterpillar and Deere as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, ARK Investment Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Dodge & Cox, Gates Foundation Trust, Gotham Asset Management, Harris Associates (Oakmark), Markel Group, Millennium Management, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.