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Why does a catalyst not change the equilibrium position of a reversible reaction?

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nanoparticles: hydrogen peroxide — catalysis Nanoparticles of a gold-palladium (yellow-blue) alloy supported on acid-treated carbon (gray) directly catalyzing hydrogen peroxide formation from hydrogen (white) and oxygen (red) while shutting off unwanted hydrogen peroxide decomposition.

A catalyst does not change the equilibrium position of a reversible reaction because it accelerates the forward and reverse reactions equally.1

In a reversible chemical reaction, equilibrium is reached when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction. Because a catalyst functions by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy, it facilitates the transformation of reactants into products and products back into reactants with the same relative efficiency.231

Consequently, while a catalyst significantly increases the speed at which a system reaches chemical equilibrium, it does not alter the thermodynamic equilibrium constant or the final ratio of products to reactants. The equilibrium position is determined by thermodynamic factors, such as temperature and pressure, rather than the kinetic rate at which that state is attained.132