CluenexPaccar PCAR
Paccar scores weak on business quality (3.4 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Paccar does
Paccar manufactures commercial trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF brands, generating revenue from heavy and medium-duty vehicle sales, replacement parts, and financial services. Fleet operators and owner-operators pay for these vehicles to haul freight across global supply chains. Facing a steep decline in top-line volume, the business is managing through a cyclical downturn while sustaining investments in advanced powertrain technologies and parts distribution infrastructure.
- What it does best
Paccar delivers exceptional cash conversion during downturns, posting $2.9 billion of free cash flow despite a 15.5% drop in revenue. This resilience stems from its high-margin parts network, which cushions earnings when new truck orders stall and keeps profitability ahead of heavy machinery rivals.
- The main risk
Demand contraction poses a severe threat as revenue growth sits in the bottom quartile of its sector at negative 15.5%. If freight volumes remain depressed, manufacturing plants face underutilization, eroding the operating margins that support its dividend payouts and debt servicing.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margins sit at 12.7% with a net margin of 9.0%, showing stable core efficiency despite falling scale. Profitability compresses as revenue drops, proving that this business requires high volumes to maximize returns.
Paccar commands brand loyalty among independent truck operators through proprietary Kenworth and Peterbilt designs. Its gross margin in the bottom quartile of its sector reflects competitive pricing pressures from peers like Caterpillar.
Revenue fell to $27.8B from $33.6B previously, confirming a sharp contraction in top-line momentum. The core vehicle segment is fading fast compared to historical highs as the freight cycle hits a trough.
Debt-to-equity of 0.8x and interest coverage of 4.7x mean debt servicing remains manageable despite heavy obligations. Free cash flow of $2.9B highlights solid cash generation during a down cycle, keeping the financial profile stable overall.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
4 sold $7.6M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on PCAR
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Paccar scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (3.4 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 4 sold $7.6M outside pre-planned sales.
Oct 27, 2026, before the open.
See PCAR today
- Today's verdict on PCAR, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Paccar (PCAR)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/pcar/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.