What is backlog?
Backlog is the value of orders a company has won but not yet filled. The work is not yet done, so it is not yet revenue.[S6] It is the company's own measure, so each company says what it counts.[S3]
How is backlog worked out?
Backlog at the end = backlog at the start + new firm orders − orders turned into revenue − cancellations ± other adjustments. Boeing, for example, revalues orders for price and schedule changes.[S6]
Caterpillar counts orders it believes to be firm.[S5] Its page shows backlog of $78.1B (Sep 30, 2026).
How is backlog different from remaining performance obligations?
Remaining performance obligations (RPO) is the GAAP figure: contract value for work not yet done.[S4] A company may leave out contracts of one year or less, and Caterpillar does.[S4][S5] Its page shows $49.4B (Sep 30, 2026).
So the two can differ either way. Each row below pairs a company's backlog with its nearest GAAP figure.
Where do you find it in a 10-K or 10-Q?
RPO sits in the notes to the financial statements: 10-K Item 8, or 10-Q Part I, Item 1.[S7][S8] Caterpillar gives backlog in MD&A, 10-Q Part I, Item 2.[S5] Boeing gives it in both the notes and MD&A.[S6]
SEC rules once listed backlog in a 10-K's business section. That item was dropped in 2020, but a company must still disclose it when material.[S1] See non-GAAP measures.
What does backlog leave out?
Boeing's 10-Q shows orders a company may leave out:[S6]
- Options a customer has not used.
- Orders a customer can end on its own.
- Orders still waiting on a customer's board, government approval or financing.
Backlog also does not fix when revenue arrives. Boeing says that timing is significantly uncertain.[S6]