As the world's largest manufacturer of heavy construction and mining equipment, Caterpillar (CAT) has long been seen as a bellwether for the global economy. Happily for long-term shareholders, CAT's returns have greatly outpaced the global economy – and U.S. stock market – for decades.
Caterpillar's outperformance in the 21st century was never a foregone conclusion. If anything, a company founded a century ago to supply tractors for delta farmers and New Deal works projects should be about as old-economy as they come.
