CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc.
$ -
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How much is sold and how much is kept. Rising revenue with falling margins points to discounting or rising costs.
How much is funded by the company's own capital. A ratio that keeps falling means growing reliance on debt.
What the company owns and where the funding came from — how much is covered by capital it never repays, and whether short-term debt is matched by liquid assets.
What one share earns (EPS) and owns (BPS) — and whether new shares have diluted each holder's slice.
Capital efficiency and safety pull against each other. Cutting debt is safer, but the same profit then earns a lower return.
Where the cash went. Profit without matching operating cash flow may be tied up in receivables or inventory. The stack sums to the net change in cash; the line is what is free before financing.
How much of the earnings reached shareholders. A rising payout ratio alongside a rising dividend can mean it is being stretched.
How richly the price is valued against earnings and sales, compared with the company's own past.