Caterpillar posted third-quarter earnings and sales early Wednesday that fell well short of estimates. The bellwether for the global economy also warned on full-year revenue, as sales of big construction equipment in the U.S. turned lower. CAT stock fell sharply, dragging down the Dow Jones Industrial Average early Wednesday.
Caterpillar Earnings
Estimates: Analysts expected adjusted earnings per share of $5.35, down 3% from a year ago. Revenue was seen slipping 2.6% to $16.37 billion.
Results: Caterpillar posted adjusted EPS of $5.17, down 6.3% from a year ago, as revenue fell 4.2% to $16.69 billion. Caterpillar's per-share results were helped by 5% by fewer shares outstanding.
Construction industry sales fell 9% and resource industry sales 10%. Energy and transportation sales rose 5%, helped by sales for data-center applications.
Outlook: Caterpillar said full-year sales will be "slightly lower" than its prior outlook, However, the company said its earnings view hasn't changed, thanks to above-target operating profit margins.
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CAT Stock
Caterpillar stock slid 4% to 372.01 in early Wednesday stock market action, testing support at its 50-day moving average.
Still, CAT stock's loss led the downside among Dow Jones stocks in early stock market action.
CAT stock broke out on Sept. 19 following the Fed's half-point rate cut, notching a new record high of 403.60 on Oct. 11. However, rising long-term Treasury yields are a negative and doubts about China's stimulus have emerged.
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