How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Cummins (CMI) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to CMI for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Cummins' Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Cummins' main business drivers.
Cummins Inc. is a leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of diesel and natural gas engines and powertrain-related component products. Powertrain components include fuel systems, turbochargers, transmissions, batteries and electrified power systems, among others. Headquartered in Columbus, IN, the company offers products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors and dealers through a network of roughly 650 company-owned and independent distributor facilities in over 19,000 dealer locations in more than 190 countries and territories.
The acquisition of Meritor in 2022 has enhanced CMI position as a top provider of integrated powertrain solutions for both internal combustion and electric vehicles. This deal expanded Cummins’ components business, opening up new growth avenues.
Cummins has the following five operating segments:
The Engine segment (24.1% of consolidated net sales in 2025) produces diesel and natural gas-based engines for on-highway and industrial markets. The engines are used in heavy and medium-duty trucks, buses, recreational vehicles, and various industrial applications in the construction, mining, agriculture, marine, oil and gas, rail, defense and agricultural markets.
The Distribution segment (36.8%) is the company’s primary sales, service and support channel. It operates through a worldwide network of wholly owned, joint venture and independent distribution locations that offer a varied range of products and services, including power generation systems, high-horsepower engines, and heavy-duty and medium-duty engines.
The Components segment (25.7%) has five businesses, namely, Emission solutions, Turbo technologies, Electronics and fuel systems, and Automated transmissions.
The Power Systems segment (12.2%) sells power generators, diesel and natural gas high-horsepower engines, and AC generator or alternator products for internal consumption and external generator set assemblers. The unit houses the Power Generation, Industrial and Generator Technologies product lines.
The Accelera segment (1.2%) designs, manufactures, sells and supports hydrogen production systems as well as electrified power systems ranging from fully electric to hybrid along with innovative components and subsystems.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Cummins, ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in July 2016 would be worth $5,834.44, or a gain of 483.44%, as of July 9, 2026, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 251.32% and gold's return of 186.89% over the same time frame.
Analysts are anticipating more upside for CMI.
Cummins continues to benefit from rising demand for backup power in data centers and other mission-critical settings, which is supporting the Distribution and Power Systems segments.It has raised its outlook for the Engine and Components businesses on the back of improved expectations from North America heavy- and medium-duty truck demand, particularly in the first half of the year. Collaboration with Komatsuto develop hybrid powertrains for heavy mining haulage equipment bodes well.Cummins is advancing its long-term growth and decarbonization goals throughstrategic investments in clean energy technologies to boost efficiency. Its investor-friendly actions and strong credit ratingcontinue to build confidence.We're bullish on the stock.
Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 6.14%, and there have been 5 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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Cummins Inc. (CMI): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).