CAT vs. IR: Caterpillar vs. Ingersoll Rand Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR) 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

Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR) both belong to the Machinery industry, though CAT is classified under Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment while IR falls under Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components.

Company profile comparison for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Profile Item	CAT	IR
Name	Caterpillar Inc.	Ingersoll Rand Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	255.63 billion USD	31.87 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	May 12, 2017
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CAT

GSPC

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR), 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 Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Total Return (1Y)	6.75%	12.39%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	38.34%	9.19%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	25.28%	8.02%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CAT

GSPC

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR), 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 Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	41.33%	34.08%
Beta (5Y)	1.65	1.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-47.79%	-36.62%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.82M	4.27M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CAT and IR 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 Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.06	0.24
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.08	0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Caterpillar (CAT) at 56.14% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 13.41%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

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%

IR

Capital Goods industry group

13.41%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
IR: 13.41%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Caterpillar (CAT) at 15.21% and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 17.20% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

IR

Capital Goods industry group

17.20%

Max: 27.47%
IR: 17.20%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Caterpillar (CAT) at 20.19% and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 18.79% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

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%

IR

Capital Goods industry group

18.79%

Max: 36.60%
IR: 18.79%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
ROE (TTM)	56.14%	13.41%
ROA (TTM)	9.09%	4.98%
Net Margin (TTM)	15.21%	17.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	20.19%	18.79%
Gross Margin (TTM)	29.54%	42.57%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Caterpillar (CAT) at 4.29% and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 5.75% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): 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 Ingersoll Rand (IR) at -29.61% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Revenue Growth (YoY)	4.29%	5.75%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.38%	8.95%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-14.69%	-29.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	14.17%	-0.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 1.69 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 1.42 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for CAT.

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

IR

Capital Goods industry group

1.69

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
IR: 1.69
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 0.46 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 2.10 uses more debt funding than most peers.

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

IR

Capital Goods industry group

0.46

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
IR: 0.46
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.42	1.69
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	2.10	0.46
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.25	1.76

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Caterpillar (CAT) at 1.13% and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 0.10% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

IR

Capital Goods industry group

0.10%

Max: 2.66%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
IR: 0.10%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Caterpillar (CAT) at 24.18% and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 2.27% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

IR

Capital Goods industry group

2.27%

Max: 67.39%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
IR: 2.27%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.13%	0.10%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	24.18%	2.27%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Caterpillar (CAT) at 21.92 and Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 23.51 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

IR

Capital Goods industry group

23.51

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
IR: 23.51
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): 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 Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 3.96 sits in the pricier quartile — IR costs more per dollar of sales.

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

IR

Capital Goods industry group

3.96

Max: 7.54
IR: 3.96
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Ingersoll Rand (IR) at 3.03 sits near its industry’s typical P/B ratio, while Caterpillar (CAT) at 11.90 prices above its benchmark range — CAT looks rich relative to book.

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

IR

Capital Goods industry group

3.03

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
IR: 3.03
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Caterpillar (CAT) vs. Ingersoll Rand (IR): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Caterpillar (CAT) and Ingersoll Rand (IR)
Metric	CAT	IR
P/E Ratio (TTM)	21.92	23.51
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.29	3.96
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	11.90	3.03
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.55%	3.19%