Caterpillar Inc. vs Union Pacific Corporation
UNP wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4.
🏆 Tale of the Tape
Green = winner in each category. Higher is better except P/E (lower = cheaper).
Rolling Correlation
Low correlation — excellent diversification pair.
Fundamentals
| Metric | CAT | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $405.4B | $179.2B |
| P/E Ratio | 43.7x | 24.6x |
| Forward P/E | 28.9x | 21.8x |
| P/B | 21.73x | 9.23x |
| Dividend Yield | 0.74% | 1.84% |
| Beta | 1.56 | 0.96 |
Quantitative Metrics
| Metric | CAT | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| DCF Fair Value | $152.48 | $39.92 |
| DCF Upside | -82.6% | -86.7% |
| Piotroski F | 6/9 | 7/9 |
| Altman Z | 5.57 | 4.24 |
| Beneish M | -2.43 | -2.61 |
| FCF Yield | 1.65% | 2.75% |
| Net Debt/EBITDA | 1.4x | 2.2x |
| ROIC | 15.3% | 12.8% |
| WACC | 13.7% | 9.8% |
| ROIC – WACC | 1.6pp | 3.0pp |
| Gross Margin | 31.8% | 45.8% |
| Net Margin | 13.1% | 29.1% |
| Rev Growth YoY | 4.3% | 1.1% |
| Sharpe (1Y) | 2.14 | 1.13 |
| Max Drawdown 3Y | — | — |
| FCF Payout Ratio | 37% | 59% |
CAT Price
UNP Price
ETF Exposure
CAT found in:
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Quant metrics computed from financial statements and 1,200+ trading days. Correlation is Pearson coefficient on daily log returns. Not investment advice.
CAT vs UNP: Head-to-Head Analysis
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) represent two companies in the Industrials sector. In our quantitative Tale of the Tape scoring, UNP leads 5–4 across nine fundamental and risk metrics including profitability, valuation, capital efficiency, and financial health.
In terms of capital efficiency, CAT generates a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 15.3% compared to UNP's 12.8%. This suggests CAT is more effective at deploying capital to generate shareholder returns.
The 252-day rolling correlation between CAT and UNP is 0.208, indicating low correlation, making them an effective diversification pair in a portfolio context.
CAT appears in 37 ETFs tracked by SecuritiesDB, while UNP appears in 30 ETFs. Investors holding broad-market ETFs may already have indirect exposure to both stocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which stock is the better investment, CAT or UNP?
Our quantitative analysis compares CAT and UNP across nine fundamental dimensions. UNP wins the Tale of the Tape 5–4. However, stock selection depends on your individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and portfolio context. These metrics are computed from SEC filings and market data — they are not investment recommendations.
Are CAT and UNP correlated?
The 252-day correlation between CAT and UNP is 0.208. They have low correlation, offering good diversification.
How is the Tale of the Tape scored?
The Tale of the Tape compares both stocks across nine categories: profitability (net margin), valuation (P/E), efficiency (ROIC), health (Piotroski F-Score), safety (Altman Z-Score), growth (revenue YoY), risk (Sharpe ratio), leverage (debt-to-equity), and cash generation (FCF yield). The stock that wins more categories takes the overall score. Lower P/E and lower debt-to-equity count as wins.