Caterpillar Past Earnings Performance

Past criteria checks 4/6

Caterpillar has been growing earnings at an average annual rate of 20.6%, while the Machinery industry saw earnings growing at 15.6% annually. Revenues have been growing at an average rate of 8.3% per year. Caterpillar's return on equity is 55%, and it has net margins of 16.3%.

Key information

20.6%

Earnings growth rate

23.3%

EPS growth rate

Machinery Industry Growth8.8%
Revenue growth rate8.3%
Return on equity55.0%
Net Margin16.3%
Last Earnings Update30 Sep 2024

Recent past performance updates

Recent updates

What Is Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Share Price Doing?

Dec 08
What Is Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Share Price Doing?

Caterpillar Is Good, But Not Quite Great

Dec 02

Why Caterpillar Is The Industrial Giant I'm Betting On For The Next Decade

Nov 23

We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Passed With Ease

Nov 13
We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Passed With Ease

Caterpillar Q3: There Are More Pressing Issues Than The Earnings Miss

Oct 30

Is Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Expensive For A Reason? A Look At Its Intrinsic Value

Oct 27
Is Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Expensive For A Reason? A Look At Its Intrinsic Value

Caterpillar: 4 Major CATalysts

Oct 23

Returns on Capital Paint A Bright Future For Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

Oct 15
Returns on Capital Paint A Bright Future For Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)

Does Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Oct 04
Does Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?

Caterpillar: The Macroeconomic Factors Fueling Its Resilience (Rating Upgrade)

Sep 22

Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Earnings Are Not Doing Enough For Some Investors

Sep 16
Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Earnings Are Not Doing Enough For Some Investors

Caterpillar: Why I'd Wait Before Adding To Existing Position (Rating Downgrade)

Aug 29

At US$342, Is It Time To Put Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) On Your Watch List?

Aug 23
At US$342, Is It Time To Put Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) On Your Watch List?

Dividend Resilience: Unveiling Caterpillar's Secret Sauce

Aug 20

Caterpillar: Every Good Tale Must Come To An End

Aug 02

Why I Remain Bullish On Caterpillar Dividends

Jul 21

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At $1.41

Jul 19
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Will Pay A Larger Dividend Than Last Year At $1.41

Here's Why Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors

Jul 16
Here's Why Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors

Investors Shouldn't Overlook Caterpillar's (NYSE:CAT) Impressive Returns On Capital

Jul 05
Investors Shouldn't Overlook Caterpillar's (NYSE:CAT) Impressive Returns On Capital

Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Jun 24
Estimating The Intrinsic Value Of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Caterpillar: Material Downside To Consensus Estimates

Jun 18

Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Price Is Right But Growth Is Lacking

Jun 13
Caterpillar Inc.'s (NYSE:CAT) Price Is Right But Growth Is Lacking

Caterpillar: Continued Upgrades Will Drive A Re-Rating; Buy

Jun 12

Is There Now An Opportunity In Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)?

May 22
Is There Now An Opportunity In Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)?

Caterpillar: The Dividend Aristocrat With A Growth Engine, A One-Stop Shop

May 18

Is Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) A Risky Investment?

May 11
Is Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) A Risky Investment?

Caterpillar Inc. Just Recorded A 14% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Apr 27
Caterpillar Inc. Just Recorded A 14% EPS Beat: Here's What Analysts Are Forecasting Next

Caterpillar: Market Leading Compounder With Limited Valuation Upside

Apr 15

We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Passed With Ease

Apr 06
We Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Passed With Ease

The Trend Of High Returns At Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Has Us Very Interested

Mar 26
The Trend Of High Returns At Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Has Us Very Interested

Is Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Trading At A 35% Discount?

Mar 15
Is Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Trading At A 35% Discount?

Caterpillar: Delivered Impressive 2023 Earnings, The Stock Is Priced To Perfection

Mar 14

The Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Full-Year Results Are Out And Analysts Have Published New Forecasts

Feb 20
The Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Full-Year Results Are Out And Analysts Have Published New Forecasts

Caterpillar: Why The Stock Has Upside Potential From Current Levels

Feb 11

Is Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) A Risky Investment?

Feb 05
Is Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) A Risky Investment?

Caterpillar Q4 Earnings Report: What Investors Need To Know

Feb 02

Is Now The Time To Look At Buying Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)?

Jan 24
Is Now The Time To Look At Buying Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)?

Revenue & Expenses Breakdown

How Caterpillar makes and spends money. Based on latest reported earnings, on an LTM basis.


Earnings and Revenue History

NYSE:CAT Revenue, expenses and earnings (USD Millions)
DateRevenueEarningsG+A ExpensesR&D Expenses
30 Sep 2465,66410,6775,8052,142
30 Jun 2466,36811,0075,7662,163
31 Mar 2466,99711,2485,6982,156
31 Dec 2367,06010,3355,6202,108
30 Sep 2366,5879,1134,7601,955
30 Jun 2364,7718,3604,5281,877
31 Mar 2361,7007,1114,3231,829
31 Dec 2259,4276,7054,1111,814
30 Sep 2256,6287,3713,8021,852
30 Jun 2254,0316,7563,6331,803
31 Mar 2252,6736,4963,5351,769
31 Dec 2150,9716,4893,4321,686
30 Sep 2148,4085,1494,4701,621
30 Jun 2145,8924,3914,2971,538
31 Mar 2143,0003,4364,1011,433
31 Dec 2041,7482,9983,9571,415
30 Sep 2043,6573,3164,1691,427
30 Jun 2046,5344,1424,3771,514
31 Mar 2050,9695,3044,5551,614
31 Dec 1953,8006,0934,7961,693
30 Sep 1954,9986,0434,8701,773
30 Jun 1955,7506,2764,8511,821
31 Mar 1955,3296,3634,9061,842
31 Dec 1854,7226,1474,8061,850
30 Sep 1853,2763,8004,4211,882
30 Jun 1851,1793,1324,4571,864
31 Mar 1848,4992,2274,4911,860
31 Dec 1745,4627544,4251,842
30 Sep 1742,1408824,5151,866
30 Jun 1739,8871064,2881,858
31 Mar 1738,898-1464,0991,868
31 Dec 1638,537-674,4761,853
30 Sep 1639,9931,0103,8902,001
30 Jun 1641,7951,2864,0262,061
31 Mar 1643,7701,5384,1962,103
31 Dec 1547,0112,5124,3632,119
30 Sep 1550,2253,3634,6162,125
30 Jun 1552,8123,8214,9002,145
31 Mar 1554,6454,0185,0322,151
31 Dec 1455,1842,4525,8942,380
30 Sep 1455,3423,9414,9842,024
30 Jun 1455,2163,8704,8731,960
31 Mar 1455,6873,8314,8661,992
31 Dec 1355,6563,7894,9812,046

Quality Earnings: CAT has high quality earnings.

Growing Profit Margin: CAT's current net profit margins (16.3%) are higher than last year (13.7%).


Free Cash Flow vs Earnings Analysis


Past Earnings Growth Analysis

Earnings Trend: CAT's earnings have grown significantly by 20.6% per year over the past 5 years.

Accelerating Growth: CAT's earnings growth over the past year (17.2%) is below its 5-year average (20.6% per year).

Earnings vs Industry: CAT earnings growth over the past year (17.2%) exceeded the Machinery industry 12.7%.


Return on Equity

High ROE: Whilst CAT's Return on Equity (55%) is outstanding, this metric is skewed due to their high level of debt.


Return on Assets


Return on Capital Employed


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Company Analysis and Financial Data Status

DataLast Updated (UTC time)
Company Analysis2024/12/18 05:19
End of Day Share Price 2024/12/18 00:00
Earnings2024/09/30
Annual Earnings2023/12/31

Data Sources

The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.

PackageDataTimeframeExample US Source *
Company Financials10 years
  • Income statement
  • Cash flow statement
  • Balance sheet
Analyst Consensus Estimates+3 years
  • Forecast financials
  • Analyst price targets
Market Prices30 years
  • Stock prices
  • Dividends, Splits and Actions
Ownership10 years
  • Top shareholders
  • Insider trading
Management10 years
  • Leadership team
  • Board of directors
Key Developments10 years
  • Company announcements

* example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.

Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.

Analysis Model and Snowflake

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Learn about the world class team who designed and built the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Industry and Sector Metrics

Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on .

Analyst Sources

Caterpillar Inc. is covered by 68 analysts. 16 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.

AnalystInstitution
John EadeArgus Research Company
William GraceAvondale Partners
Mircea DobreBaird