Caterpillar Inc Cash Flow Quality Index
Caterpillar Inc cash flow quality index. Caterpillar Inc (CAT) has a Cash Flow Quality Index of 1.50x as of December 2025. Operating cash flow of $3.59 Billion exceeds net income of $2.40 Billion, indicating high earnings quality where cash backs reported profits. See CAT free cash flow debt coverage to measure the company's free cash flow as a share of total liabilities.
Cash Flow Quality Index
Operating Cash Flow
Net Income
Data as of
Cash Flow Quality Index of Caterpillar Inc (1989–2025)
Cash flow quality index of Caterpillar Inc from 1989 to 2025. Historical Cash Flow Quality Index for Caterpillar Inc across 34 annual periods. Values consistently above 1.0x indicate high-quality earnings. Explore Caterpillar Inc (CAT) cash flow to debt to assess how comfortably operating cash covers total debt obligations.
Caterpillar Inc Cash Flow Quality Index by Year (1989–2025)
Caterpillar Inc cash flow quality index by year from 1989 to 2025. Year-by-year earnings quality comparison for Caterpillar Inc. For the full cash flow conversion analysis, see how efficiently does Caterpillar Inc generate cash.
| Year | Quality Index | Operating CF (USD) | Net Income | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.32x | $11.74 Billion | $8.88 Billion | ▲ +18.5% |
| 2024 | 1.12x | $12.04 Billion | $10.79 Billion | ▼ -10.5% |
| 2023 | 1.25x | $12.88 Billion | $10.33 Billion | ▲ +7.7% |
| 2022 | 1.16x | $7.77 Billion | $6.70 Billion | ▲ +4.5% |
| 2021 | 1.11x | $7.20 Billion | $6.49 Billion | ▼ -47.4% |
| 2020 | 2.11x | $6.33 Billion | $3.00 Billion | ▲ +85.8% |
| 2019 | 1.13x | $6.91 Billion | $6.09 Billion | ▲ +6.3% |
| 2018 | 1.07x | $6.56 Billion | $6.15 Billion | ▼ -85.8% |
| 2017 | 7.52x | $5.71 Billion | $759.00 Million | ▲ +183.1% |
| 2015 | 2.66x | $6.70 Billion | $2.52 Billion | ▼ -18.7% |
| 2014 | 3.26x | $8.06 Billion | $2.47 Billion | ▲ +21.8% |
| 2013 | 2.68x | $10.19 Billion | $3.80 Billion | ▲ +195.8% |
| 2012 | 0.91x | $5.18 Billion | $5.72 Billion | ▼ -35.1% |
| 2011 | 1.40x | $6.96 Billion | $4.98 Billion | ▼ -23.1% |
| 2010 | 1.82x | $5.01 Billion | $2.76 Billion | ▼ -76.9% |
| 2009 | 7.86x | $6.50 Billion | $827.00 Million | ▲ +503.0% |
| 2008 | 1.30x | $4.67 Billion | $3.58 Billion | ▼ -41.4% |
| 2007 | 2.22x | $7.96 Billion | $3.58 Billion | ▲ +35.6% |
| 2006 | 1.64x | $5.80 Billion | $3.54 Billion | ▲ +50.3% |
| 2005 | 1.09x | $3.11 Billion | $2.85 Billion | ▲ +155.6% |
| 2004 | -1.96x | $-3.99 Billion | $2.04 Billion | ▲ +61.6% |
| 2003 | -5.11x | $-5.61 Billion | $1.10 Billion | ▼ -2.8% |
| 2002 | -4.96x | $-3.96 Billion | $798.00 Million | ▼ -301.1% |
| 2001 | 2.47x | $1.99 Billion | $805.00 Million | ▲ +26.2% |
| 2000 | 1.96x | $2.06 Billion | $1.05 Billion | ▼ -28.6% |
| 1999 | 2.74x | $2.59 Billion | $946.00 Million | ▲ +133.0% |
| 1998 | 1.18x | $1.78 Billion | $1.51 Billion | ▼ -6.6% |
| 1997 | 1.26x | $2.10 Billion | $1.67 Billion | ▼ -3.9% |
| 1996 | 1.31x | $1.78 Billion | $1.36 Billion | ▼ -32.1% |
| 1995 | 1.93x | $2.19 Billion | $1.14 Billion | ▲ +4.8% |
| 1994 | 1.84x | $1.76 Billion | $955.00 Million | ▼ -10.8% |
| 1993 | 2.06x | $1.41 Billion | $681.00 Million | ▼ -47.2% |
| 1990 | 3.90x | $820.00 Million | $210.00 Million | ▲ +114.0% |
| 1989 | 1.82x | $907.00 Million | $497.00 Million | — |