Caterpillar

Caterpillar now expects 2024 revenue to be slightly lower than the $67.1 billion it saw in 2023, with the decline in the second half expected to be similar to the prior year. On an earnings call, CEO Jim Umpleby says this is in part due to its latest assumptions for dealer inventory, principally in resource industries, according to a transcript provided by FactSet. In North America, Caterpillar anticipates slightly lower construction industry sales for 2024 due to a weaker than expected rental fleet, though government-related infrastructure projects are expected to remain healthy, Umpleby says. Caterpillar gains 3.5% in early trading.

Caterpillar (CAT) demonstrated some quality attributes relative to other original equipment manufacturers with growth in adjusted operating profit amid a decline in sales, margin expansion despite destocking and negative dealer retailer sales, and pricing over cost, BofA Securities said in a note Wednesday. The firm said it still expects risks of an increase in destocking and construction industries’ pricing while the company maintains its earnings in a macroeconomic slowdown. Caterpillar reported Q2 adjusted earnings of $5.99 per diluted share, up from $5.55 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $5.54. Revenue for the quarter was $16.69 billion, above expectations of $16.67 billion. BofA said it is “too early to talk about ‘other side’” with price deflation, a decline in the non-residential construction sector and commodities under pressure. “Yet the longer Caterpillar demonstrates a higher/resilient earnings per share profile, the next cycle EPS power comes into focus,” the firm

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) shares are climbing on Wednesday, after the company reported strong second-quarter results. The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways. BofA Securities On Caterpillar Analyst Michael Feniger reiterated a Buy rating while reducing the price target from $385 to $376. Caterpillar reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, “demonstrating a higher/resilient EPS profile in a gloomy macro,” Feniger said in a note. Adjusted earnings came in at $5.99 per share, beating consensus estimates of $5.53 per share, he added. “While CAT is still a cyclical OEM, we are observing some quality attributes relative to other OEMs and prior slowdowns,” the analyst wrote. He further stated that Caterpillar was “holding the line” on earnings, despite a macro slowdown. Truist Securities On Caterpillar Analyst Jamie Cook maintained a Buy rating while raising the price target from $390 to $399. Caterpillar exceeded consensus earnings by 8% “on

Caterpillar (CAT) posted Q1 adjusted earnings Thursday of $5.60 per share, up from $4.91 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $5.13. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $15.8 billion, down from $15.86 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Capital IQ expected $15.99 billion. Shares of the company declined more than 3% in recent premarket activity on Thursday.

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: CAT shares are sliding today following the company’s Q1 print, with a beat on EPS being overshadowed by a nearly $200M miss on sales. We believe that high expectations were baked into the share price prior to the Q1 release. We trim our target to $335 from $360, 15x our 2025 EPS outlook of $22.35 (in line with the previous forecast; 2024 EPS lifted by $0.47 to $21.88), slightly below CAT’s long-term historical forward average. CAT posted Q1 operating EPS of $5.60 (+14% Y/Y), $0.47 above consensus. Revenues were roughly flat Y/Y, with falling volumes in Construction and Resource industries being offset by pricing realization. Energy & Transportation was once again a bright spot, contributing $433M in sales growth. Earnings expansion was largely driven by gains in

Caterpillar is guiding to largely flat sales in 2024 on the expectation the company’s dealers won’t expand their equipment inventories much this year after increasing them by $700 million in 2023. Caterpillar says flat inventories at dealers will be a “headwind” for the company’s sales growth in 2024. Caterpillar’s 1Q sales slipped 1% from the same quarter a year earlier, driven by 5% drop in construction equipment sales and 7% decrease in mining equipment. The declines were partially offset by a 7% rise in sales of engines for energy and transportation. Shares sink 7% at $337.66.

Caterpillar (CAT) reported mixed first-quarter results versus a year ago impacted by lower sales volume, while the heavy equipment manufacturer expects revenue to be down on an annual basis in the current three-month period. The company reported adjusted earnings of $5.60 a share for the March quarter, up from $4.91 the year before, and ahead of the Capital IQ-polled consensus of $5.13. Revenue edged down to $15.8 billion from $15.86 billion, below the Street’s view for $15.99 billion. The stock declined 8.5% in Thursday trading. “Sales remained about flat compared to the prior year as lower volume was largely offset by favorable price realization,” Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield said during an earnings call, according to a Capital IQ transcript. “The decline in volume was primarily due to lower sales to users,” led by weakness in Europe for construction industries. Machinery, energy and transportation revenue dipped 1% to $14.96 billion.

The following is a summary of the Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Caterpillar reported flat Q1 sales and revenues of $15.8 billion compared to last year. Adjusted operating profit increased by 5% to $3.5 billion. The company announced record adjusted profit per share at $5.60, an increase of 14%. Generated a free cash flow of $1.3 billion for the quarter. Notable increase in the backlog, with a value at $27.9 billion, up $400 million from the previous quarter. Performance was fueled by record deployment of $5.1 billion cash for share repurchases and dividends. Business Progress: Most end markets exhibited healthy demand for Caterpillar’s products and services. Anticipates a revenue increase in the Energy & Transportation business line, offset slightly by a softened European market in Construction Industries. The company forecasted the adjusted operating profit margin and ME&T free cash flow for 2024 to be in

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: CAT shares have risen 65% from the end of October 2023 to a record of ~$375 per share. We now view CAT shares as fully valued following the recent run-up, and see there being less room to run given our outlook for low single-digit EPS expansion in 2024 and 2025. We believe the strong share performance can be tied to anticipated tailwinds in 2024, including government-led infrastructure investments, recovering residential construction activity, AI-driven data center buildout, and positive impacts from expected interest rate cuts. However, we view the near-term opportunity from these growth catalysts currently being baked into share price. China (typically 5%-10% of enterprise sales) poses a near-term headwind for CAT as economic conditions remain unfavorable, although a stronger-than-anticipated recovery would likely support stronger than forecasted

Truist Securities analyst Jamie Cook initiates coverage on Caterpillar with a Buy rating and announces Price Target of $390.

Citigroup analyst Timothy Thein maintains Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) with a Neutral and raises the price target from $255 to $340.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 02/12/2024 5.9% Citigroup $255 → $340 Maintains Neutral 02/06/2024 19.92% JP Morgan $345 → $385 Maintains Overweight 02/06/2024 -19.95% Baird $210 → $257 Maintains Underperform 02/06/2024 1.23% Wells Fargo $290 → $325 Maintains Equal-Weight 02/06/2024 11.2% Goldman Sachs $274 → $357 Maintains Buy 01/08/2024 -15.9% Morgan Stanley → $270 Initiates Coverage On → Equal-Weight 12/21/2023 -23.69% Bernstein $216 → $245 Maintains Market Perform 12/19/2023 -8.74% Stifel $285 → $293 Maintains Buy 11/20/2023 -22.13% HSBC → $250 Initiates Coverage On → Hold 11/08/2023 -8.12% Tigress Financial $282 → $295 Maintains Buy 11/01/2023 -14.66% Goldman Sachs $315 → $274 Maintains Buy 10/16/2023 -0.33% JP Morgan $315 → $320 Maintains Overweight 08/02/2023 -6.56% Stifel $275 → $300 Maintains Buy 08/02/2023 -1.89% JP Morgan $275 → $315 Maintains Overweight 08/02/2023 -0.33% TD Cowen $287 → $320