Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) vs Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)
The same free fields, in the same order, for both companies, so a figure on one line can be read straight across.
This page states measurements and nothing else. It does not rank the two companies, name one of them, or draw a conclusion from the figures.
Data as of Oct 27, 2026, for both companies.
The figures, field by field
A dash means the snapshot carries no figure for that company on that line. A line is dropped only when neither company has it, so a dash beside a figure is a fact about coverage, not about either company.
| CAT | NSC | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Industrials | Industrials |
| Industry | Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery | Railroads |
| Size band | MEGA | LARGE |
| Listing | NYSE | NYSE |
| Country | United States | United States |
| Theme | industrial-machinery | rail-transport |
| Price and returns | ||
| Last close | $692.13 | $333.99 |
| Return · 1 week | −4.64% | +3.25% |
| Return · 1 month | −15.59% | +6.69% |
| Return · 3 months | −17.69% | −1.04% |
| Return · year to date | +16.15% | +17.06% |
| Return · 1 year | +31.87% | +20.20% |
| Distance from the 52-week highThe last close measured against the highest close of the past 52 weeks. | −35.52% | −6.86% |
| 52-week high | $1,073.46 | $358.60 |
| 52-week low | $510.21 | $277.80 |
| Size and turnover | ||
| Market value · USDConverted to US dollars, so two companies listed in different currencies sit under one heading. | $318.15B | $75.02B |
| Turnover · median day, USDThe median value traded in a session over the past 50 sessions. | $1.61B | $290.59M |
| Employees | 118,000 | 19,300 |
| Valuation | ||
| Price to earnings · trailing | 29.57× | 28.16× |
| Price to earnings · forward | 21.08× | 23.04× |
| Price to sales | 4.23× | 5.72× |
| Price to book | 16.28× | 4.56× |
| Enterprise value to EBITDA | 21.85× | 15.44× |
| Enterprise value to revenue | 4.75× | 6.88× |
| PEG ratio | 1.20 | 3.88 |
| Earnings per share · trailing | 23.23 | 11.72 |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 32.46% | 35.53% |
| Operating margin | 22.18% | 34.60% |
| Profit margin | 14.51% | 20.68% |
| Return on equity | 56.97% | 16.84% |
| Return on assets | 9.03% | 6.00% |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | +24.00% | +13.60% |
| Earnings growth | +68.20% | +6.70% |
| Balance sheet and payout | ||
| Debt / equity (%) | 232.78 | 99.30 |
| Current ratio | 1.37 | 0.90 |
| Dividend yield | 0.95% | 1.64% |
| Payout ratio | 26.00% | 45.26% |
| Trend and volatility | ||
| RSI · 14 | 28.71 | 61.44 |
| ADX · 14 | 28.93 | 29.70 |
| 50-day average | $796.45 | $326.55 |
| 200-day average | $809.04 | $314.05 |
| Average true range · share of priceAverage true range over 14 sessions, stated as a share of the last close, so it can be read across two share prices. | 4.18% | 1.70% |
The full CAT analysis
Everything this table leaves out for Caterpillar Inc.: the plain-language summary and key points, the accumulation read, signal history, full fundamentals, market context, and the case each side of the CAT argument makes.
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Open the full CAT analysisThe full NSC analysis
Everything this table leaves out for Norfolk Southern Corporation: the plain-language summary and key points, the accumulation read, signal history, full fundamentals, market context, and the case each side of the NSC argument makes.
$9.90 per stock, one time, 30 days of access.
Open the full NSC analysis