AXON vs. CAT: Axon Enterprise vs. Caterpillar Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but AXON is classified in Aerospace & Defense while CAT is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Profile Item	AXON	CAT
Name	Axon Enterprise, Inc.	Caterpillar Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment
Market Capitalization	25.49 billion USD	255.63 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	June 19, 2001	January 2, 1962
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AXON

CAT

GSPC

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Total Return (1Y)	-48.97%	6.75%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.54%	38.34%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.75%	25.28%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AXON

CAT

GSPC

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	64.30%	41.33%
Beta (5Y)	1.55	1.65
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-64.70%	-47.79%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.06M	2.82M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

AXON and CAT are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.83	0.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-1.14	0.08

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 56.14% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 7.61%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

7.61%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
AXON: 7.61%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

56.14%

CAT: 56.14%
Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 15.21% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 7.57%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

7.57%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
AXON: 7.57%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

15.21%

Max: 27.47%
CAT: 15.21%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 20.19% carries a top-quartile operating margin, while Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 4.63% operates in the bottom quartile.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

4.63%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
AXON: 4.63%
Min: -12.63%

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

20.19%

Max: 36.60%
CAT: 20.19%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
ROE (TTM)	7.61%	56.14%
ROA (TTM)	0.81%	9.09%
Net Margin (TTM)	7.57%	15.21%
Operating Margin (TTM)	4.63%	20.19%
Gross Margin (TTM)	58.64%	29.54%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 33.47% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 4.29% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AXON.

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Caterpillar (CAT) at -14.69% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Axon Enterprise (AXON) at -68.54% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	33.47%	4.29%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	32.79%	4.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-68.54%	-14.69%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-9.39%	14.17%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 3.00 carries current ratio above its industry’s typical mid-range, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 1.42 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — different working-capital profiles, both worth examining.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

3.00

Max: 5.22
AXON: 3.00
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

1.42

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
CAT: 1.42
Min: 0.36

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 0.79 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 2.10 uses more debt funding than most peers.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

0.79

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
AXON: 0.79
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

2.10

Max: 2.33
CAT: 2.10
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	3.00	1.42
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.79	2.10
Net Debt / EBITDA	5.98	2.25

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Axon Enterprise (AXON) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Caterpillar (CAT) reports a yield of 1.13%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
AXON: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

1.13%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
CAT: 1.13%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Axon Enterprise (AXON) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Caterpillar (CAT) reports a payout of 24.18%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
AXON: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

24.18%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
CAT: 24.18%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.13%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	24.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 21.92 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 100.64 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for AXON’s trailing earnings.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

100.64

AXON: 100.64
Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

21.92

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
CAT: 21.92
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 3.29 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 7.46 sits in the pricier quartile — AXON costs more per dollar of sales.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

7.46

Max: 7.54
AXON: 7.46
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

3.29

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
CAT: 3.29
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Axon Enterprise (AXON) at 6.74 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and Caterpillar (CAT) at 11.90 prices even higher, above its industry range.

AXON

Capital Goods industry group

6.74

Max: 9.66
AXON: 6.74
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

CAT

Capital Goods industry group

11.90

CAT: 11.90
Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Axon Enterprise (AXON) vs. Caterpillar (CAT): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Caterpillar (CAT)
Metric	AXON	CAT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	100.64	21.92
P/S Ratio (TTM)	7.46	3.29
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.74	11.90
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.38%	1.55%