Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.49 EPS

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.49, FiscalAI reports. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 47.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The company had revenue of $19.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.14 earnings per share. Caterpillar’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Caterpillar’s conference call:

• Caterpillar delivered record full?year sales and revenues of $67.6 billion and a Q4 single?quarter record of $19.1 billion, with backlog growing to a record $51 billion (up 71% YoY) on strong orders across all segments.
• Tariffs are a significant headwind — net incremental tariffs were about $1.7 billion in 2025 and are expected to be roughly $2.6 billion in 2026 (including ~$800 million in Q1), putting pressure on margins despite mitigation actions.
• Power & Energy was the fastest?growing segment (power generation > $10 billion in 2025, +30%+ YoY); the company is expanding large?engine and turbine capacity to support multi?gigawatt data center and gas?compression demand, including a recently announced 2 GW prime?power order.
• Profitability and cash dynamics are mixed — full?year adjusted operating margin was 17.2% (within target) and MP&E?free cash flow was $9.5 billion, while 2026 margins are expected higher excluding tariffs but near the bottom of the target range including tariffs and MP&E?free cash flow should be slightly lower due to ~$3.5 billion of CapEx.
• Services, digital initiatives, and shareholder returns remain priorities — services revenue reached $24 billion with >1.6 million connected assets and a $30 billion 2030 goal, and the company returned $7.9 billion to shareholders in 2025 with plans for additional repurchases.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

NYSE:CAT opened at $673.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $315.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $602.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $517.31. Caterpillar has a fifty-two week low of $267.30 and a fifty-two week high of $679.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CAT. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. HSBC raised Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $405.00 to $660.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Caterpillar from $740.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Caterpillar from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $656.52.

Insider Activity

In other Caterpillar news, insider Anthony D. Fassino sold 8,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.18, for a total transaction of $4,666,353.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,512 shares in the company, valued at $23,669,312.16. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Maclennan bought 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $568.86 per share, with a total value of $170,658.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,730.42. This trade represents a 3.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,729 shares of company stock valued at $31,084,308 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CAT. Amundi increased its position in Caterpillar by 24.3% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,375,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,176,870,000 after buying an additional 464,036 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,022,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $488,081,000 after acquiring an additional 50,502 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 751,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,854,000 after buying an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 6.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 572,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,120,000 after buying an additional 34,846 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Caterpillar by 180.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 403,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,638,000 after purchasing an additional 259,526 shares in the last quarter. 70.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Caterpillar

Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar reported better-than-expected Q4 results — adjusted EPS $5.16 vs. $4.67 est. and record quarterly revenue of ~$19.1B, driven by higher equipment volumes; management provided slide deck and call materials. Caterpillar Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Surging demand from hyperscale AI/data-center builds boosted sales of power-generation equipment (generators/engines) and was repeatedly cited on the earnings call as a structural growth driver. Caterpillar Says AI Data-Center Boom Continues to Drive Growth — Update
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $735 and set a Buy rating, signaling analyst conviction and potential upside (~10% from the referenced price). Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic alliance announced to supply ~2 GW of fast-response generator capacity for a hyperscale AI campus — a multi-year, high-visibility revenue and delivery cadence that supports power segment growth. American Intelligence & Power Forms Strategic Alliance with Caterpillar
• Neutral Sentiment: Conference call and full earnings transcripts are available (useful for parsing management commentary on backlog, geographic capex and margins). Caterpillar Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Caterpillar warned of an estimated $2.6B tariff impact in 2026, which management says will pressure margins and could offset some revenue gains. Caterpillar flags $2.6 billion tariff hit in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and company commentary note that higher tariffs and input costs are squeezing profit margins despite revenue growth — watch margins and tariff mitigation plans in upcoming guidance. Caterpillar Says Higher Tariffs Impacted Profit Margins

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off?highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.