Industrials · NYSE: CAT
Caterpillar: how the business works
Caterpillar makes construction and mining machines, engines and turbines and lends to buyers, with sales and revenues of $67.6 billion in FY2025.
By Hardik Bhandare · Checked against filings:
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Caterpillar Inc. · Irving, Texas · Founded 1925
Last updated
- Sales and revenues, FY2025
- $67.6B
- Net income, FY2025
- $8.9B
- Dealers in the US and abroad
- 41 and 109
- Full-time employees, Dec 31, 2025
- 118,000
- Organized
- 1925
The short version
Caterpillar in 5 points
1 · What it sells
Caterpillar sells construction and mining machines, engines, generator sets, turbines and locomotives, and lends to buyers through Cat Financial, with $67.6 billion of sales and revenues in FY2025.
2 · Who pays it
In FY2025, dealers and customers in North America paid 54.2% of sales and revenues, Europe, Africa and the Middle East 18.9%, Asia/Pacific 16.6% and Latin America 10.3%, and the split by end user is not disclosed.
3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2025, Caterpillar kept $12.95 as net income, which includes $294 million of pension and retiree mark-to-market gains before tax, while operating profit was $16.26 per $100.
4 · Where the operating profit comes from
Power & Energy earned 44.5% of FY2025 segment profit, Construction Industries 33.3%, Resource Industries 15.3% and Financial Products 6.9%, on the basis recast for the Rail move.
5 · The one thing to watch
Caterpillar's backlog was about $78.1 billion on Sep 30, 2026, up from about $51.2 billion on Dec 31, 2025, and about $32.6 billion of it is not expected to be filled within 12 months.
Sources: From Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K, the 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026 and the Q3 FY2026 10-Q · checked
See the full receipt and the management scorecard below
01Where the money goes · FY2025
Where does $100 of Caterpillar's money go?
Caterpillar · FY2025
Receipt for every $100
| Cost of goods sold | $65.3 |
|---|---|
| Selling, general and administrative | $10.2 |
| Research and development | $3.1 |
| Interest on Financial Products' borrowing | $2.0 |
| Other operating costs | $1.7 |
| Other interest | $0.7 |
| Income tax | $4.0 |
| Kept as net income | $12.9 |
| Total | $100 |
Each line = amount ÷ total money in × 100. Lines may not add to exactly $100 because of rounding.
How this is worked out
Cityfort calculation from FY2025 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2025: each line = line ÷ $68,590 million × 100 (sales and revenues $67,589 million + other income $892 million + profit of affiliates $109 million). Operating profit was $11,151 million, or $16.26 of each $100. Net income includes $294 million before tax of gains from revaluing pension and retiree plans (mark-to-market).
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02The business in one line
What does Caterpillar do?
Builders, miners, energy companies and railroads pay Caterpillar, mostly through independent dealers, for machines, engines and turbines; most of the money goes on making them, and $12.95 of every $100 that came in during FY2025 was left as net income.
- Dealers and customers in North America paid 54.2% of FY2025 sales and revenues. Filings give no split by type of end user.
- Power & Energy earned 44.5% of FY2025 segment profit, Construction Industries 33.3%, Resource Industries 15.3% and Financial Products 6.9% (Cityfort calculation from the 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026).
03Who pays it
Who pays Caterpillar?
North America
54%
of revenue
54.2% of FY2025 sales and revenues, or $36,609 million, by dealer or customer location. Sales inside the US alone were $32,880 million.
Europe, Africa and the Middle East
19%
of revenue
18.9% of FY2025 sales and revenues, or $12,793 million.
Asia/Pacific
17%
of revenue
16.6% of FY2025 sales and revenues, or $11,199 million. Q3 FY2026 sales and revenues here fell 2% from a year earlier.
Latin America
10%
of revenue
10.3% of FY2025 sales and revenues, or $6,988 million.
- North America54%
- Europe, Africa and the Middle East19%
- Asia/Pacific17%
- Latin America10%
How spread out the customers are
These shares are by region because Caterpillar gives no revenue split by customer or end use. Dealers sit between Caterpillar and most end users. The FY2025 10-K says no single customer or dealer was a significant concentration of credit risk; that statement covers credit risk, not revenue. Shares are a Cityfort calculation from the 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026.
04Why it makes money
Why does Caterpillar make money?
Profit moves with how much customers and dealers order, what it costs to build, and tariffs.
Operating profit per $100 of sales and revenues was $20.2 in FY2024 and $16.5 in FY2025. Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K put tariffs at about $2.6 billion in 2026, $800 million more than in 2025. Q3 FY2026's $20.4 includes $128 million of tariff recoveries.
Operating profit per $100 of sales and revenues
$13.5$16.5
FY2021 to FY2025
- End users order through dealers
- Dealers hold inventory and place orders
- Factories build against the backlog
- Cat Financial funds some of the sales
- Cash pays for new capacity
- Dividends and buybacks return cash to shareholders
↺ Step 6 feeds back into step 1.
05Business segments · FY2025
Which businesses make up Caterpillar?
Power & Energy
39%Engines, generator sets and turbines. Cards use the basis recast for Rail's Jan 1, 2026 move and unaudited total segment sales, including sales between segments. Shares are of the four segments' $73,824 million (Cityfort calculation from the 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026). The chart keeps Rail here, so its $32,201 million for FY2025 compares across years.
Revenue $28.6B · Operating profit $6.3B
Construction Industries
34%Machines for building and infrastructure. Segment profit fell from $6,165 million in FY2024 to $4,675 million in FY2025.
Revenue $25.1B · Operating profit $4.7B
Resource Industries
22%Mining and heavy construction machines, plus Rail from 2026. Before the Rail move, FY2025 sales were $12,474 million and segment profit $1,988 million, which is the basis in the chart. The chart's FY2021 and FY2022 are as first reported.
Revenue $15.9B · Operating profit $2.2B
Financial Products
6%Cat Financial's loans and leases, plus Insurance Services. Segment profit was $932 million in FY2024.
Revenue $4.2B · Operating profit $966M
How the mix changed
- Power & Energy
- Construction Industries
- Resource Industries
- Financial Products
Revenue by segment, FY2021 to FY2025.
US$
See the numbers
06The numbers · Consolidated · US$
How has Caterpillar done?
Revenue
$67.6BFY2025
Sales and revenues rose from $51.0 billion in FY2021 to $67.1 billion in FY2023, fell to $64.8 billion in FY2024 and reached $67.6 billion in FY2025.
US$
See the numbers
Net profit
$8.9BFY2025
Net income rose from $6.5 billion in FY2021 to $10.8 billion in FY2024, then fell to $8.9 billion in FY2025; FY2022 carries a $925 million goodwill charge on Rail.
US$
See the numbers
Profit kept per $100 of revenue
$13.1FY2025
Net income per $100 of sales and revenues was $13.1 in FY2025, down from $16.7 in FY2024; Q2 and Q3 FY2026 include $392 million and $128 million of tariff recoveries.
$ of profit per $100 of revenue (net margin)
See the numbers
Free cash flow
$7.5BFY2025
Free cash flow was $7.5 billion in FY2025 from $11.7 billion of operating cash flow, after $2.8 billion of capital spending and $1.5 billion of equipment leased to others (Cityfort calculation from FY2025 10-K).
US$ · cash from operations minus spending on plants and equipment
See the numbers
See all yearly numbers
EBITDA here = operating income plus depreciation and amortization (from the cash flow statement). Fiscal years are the company's own (Fiscal year ends Dec 31). Net profit is the share belonging to the company's owners.
Learn: Fiscal years that don't end in December: Nvidia's FY2027 explained · Stock-based compensation and dilution: pay that becomes shares
Sources (12)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2023 (ended Dec 31, 2023)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2022 (ended Dec 31, 2022)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2024 (Sep 30, 2024)
- Q4 FY2024 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q1 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q2 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q3 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q4 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q1 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q2 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q3 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
07Who runs it
Who runs Caterpillar, and did they deliver?
Joseph E. Creed
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman · since 2025
CEO since May 1, 2025; also Chairman since Apr 1, 2026. His 2025 total pay was $17,008,077. The proxy's CEO pay ratio was 196 to 1, using annualized pay of $17,524,953 and a median employee's $89,253.
Kyle Epley
Chief Financial Officer · since 2026
Since May 1, 2026, succeeding Andrew R.J. Bonfield.
Derrick York
Leads Resource Industries · since 2026
From Nov 1, 2026. Denise Johnson retires on Feb 1, 2027.
D. James Umpleby III
Former CEO and Executive Chairman
CEO from 2017 to 2025. He left the board on Apr 1, 2026.
What they said, and what happened
3 too early to tell · 1 delivered
Said on Feb 13, 2026
Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K said it expected FY2026 sales and revenues growth around the top end of its 5% to 7% target.
Too early to tellWhat happened
The year is not over. Caterpillar raised this to low double digits in May and mid-to-high teens in August, and kept that in November. Nine-month sales and revenues rose 21%.
Said on Aug 28, 2025
Caterpillar's 8-K put the net tariff impact at $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion for 2025.
DeliveredWhat happened
The FY2025 10-K said about $2.6 billion in 2026 would be $800 million more than in 2025, which implies about $1.8 billion for 2025 (Cityfort calculation from FY2025 10-K).
Said on Feb 13, 2026
Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K estimated tariff costs of about $2.6 billion for 2026.
Too early to tellWhat happened
The Nov 4, 2026 10-Q says about $2.2 billion, excluding about $520 million of recoveries, with about $600 million in Q4 FY2026.
Said on Nov 4, 2026
Caterpillar's 10-Q says its goal is to return substantially all machinery, power and energy free cash flowCash from operations minus spending on buildings and equipment. Learn more to shareholders over time.
Too early to tellWhat happened
In the first nine months of FY2026, GAAP operating cash flow was $10,593 million and that company measure was $9,525 million, against $2,148 million of dividends and $7,745 million of buybacks.
Sources (10)
- 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A)
- 8-K filed Jan 6, 2026: board leadership change
- 8-K filed Apr 10, 2026: CFO appointment
- 8-K filed Oct 15, 2026: Resource Industries leadership change, with Ex. 99.1
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
- Form 10-Q, Q1 FY2026 (Mar 31, 2026)
- Form 10-Q, Q2 FY2026 (Jun 30, 2026)
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026)
- 8-K filed Aug 28, 2025: tariff impact update
- Q3 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
08What could go wrong
What could go wrong for Caterpillar?
- Demand
Demand follows the economic cycle and dealers' inventory
Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K names economic cycles and dealer inventory decisions as risks. Sales and revenues fell to $64,809 million in FY2024 from $67,060 million in FY2023. Caterpillar said in its Nov 4, 2026 10-Q that it expects dealers' construction inventory to fall by roughly $1.6 billion in Q4 FY2026.
Watch Dealer inventory changes and the retail sales statistics in each quarterly filing.
- Regulation
Tariff costs and uncertain recoveries
Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q estimates about $2.2 billion of tariff costs in 2026, excluding about $520 million of recoveries. A Feb 20, 2026 Supreme Court ruling found tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act unauthorized. Caterpillar had paid about $1.0 billion of them and calls further recoveries uncertain.
Watch Tariff costs in Q4 FY2026, which the 10-Q puts at about $600 million, and any further recoveries.
- Other
Margins that include tariff recoveries
Tariff recoveries of $392 million in Q2 FY2026 and $128 million in Q3 sit in cost of goods sold. The GAAP operating margins of 20.9% and 20.4% and the adjusted margins of 21.9% and 20.6% still include them, and most sit in corporate items rather than segments.
Watch Operating margin in quarters without recoveries, in the earnings releases.
- Debt
Cat Financial's funding and credit quality
Financial Products had $34,551 million of debt on Sep 30, 2026. Caterpillar's 10-K names funding, credit losses and interest rates as risks. Cat Financial's interest coverage was 1.53 against a 1.15 minimum and leverage 8.01 against a 10 maximum.
Watch Cat Financial's covenant figures and Caterpillar's credit ratings in each 10-Q.
- Concentration
Data center demand the filings do not size
Management said in the Nov 4, 2026 10-Q that Power Generation growth came from energy demand for data centers. Caterpillar reports no data center revenue, and backlog is not split by segment, so the exposure cannot be read from the filings.
Watch Power Generation sales each quarter ($3,421 million in Q3 FY2026) and any new disclosure.
- Competition
Competition and price discounting
Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K names competitors in every business, including Chinese makers such as Sany and Guangxi LiuGong, and says price discounting occurs.
Watch Segment margins: Construction Industries was 22.9% in Q3 FY2026, up from 20.4% a year earlier.
- Concentration
Reliance on independent dealers
Most machines reach customers through independent dealers, and dealer agreements can be ended at will on 90 days' notice. Caterpillar's reported sales depend on what those dealers choose to order.
Watch Further dealer purchases such as John Fabick Tractor Company, and dealer inventory levels.
09Both sides
What do supporters and critics point to?
What supporters point to
- Caterpillar reported a backlog of about $78.1 billion at Sep 30, 2026, up from about $51.2 billion at Dec 31, 2025.
- Q3 FY2026 net income was $3,287 million, up from $2,300 million a year earlier, on sales and revenues of $20,682 million, up from $17,638 million.
- Power Generation sales to outside customers rose from $7,756 million in FY2024 to $10,275 million in FY2025.
- Caterpillar paid $2,148 million of dividends and spent $7,745 million on buybacks in the first nine months of FY2026.
- Most debt is Financial Products': the machinery, power and energy business had net debt of $3,548 million on Sep 30, 2026 (Cityfort calculation from the Q3 FY2026 earnings release).
What critics point to
- FY2025 net income fell to $8,884 million from $10,792 million, and operating margin fell to 16.5% from 20.2%.
- Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q estimates about $2.2 billion of tariff costs in 2026, excluding about $520 million of recoveries.
- Q2 and Q3 FY2026 operating profit include $392 million and $128 million of tariff recoveries, and adjusted margins include them too.
- About $32.6 billion of the Sep 30, 2026 backlog is not expected to be filled within 12 months, and the filings give no backlog by segment or data center revenue.
- Inventories rose from $18,135 million to $22,214 million in the nine months to Sep 30, 2026, while cash fell from $9,980 million to $7,929 million.
10What to watch next
What should you watch next at Caterpillar?
Next event
Q4 FY2026 results
Date not announced yet.
Backlog against sales
Backlog was about $78.1 billion on Sep 30, 2026, up from about $51.2 billion on Dec 31, 2025, and about $32.6 billion of it is not expected to be filled within 12 months. Q3 FY2026 sales and revenues were $20,682 million.
Tariffs and recoveries
Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q puts Q4 FY2026 tariff costs at about $600 million and calls further recoveries uncertain.
Dealer inventory
Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q expects dealers' construction inventory to fall by roughly $1.6 billion in Q4 FY2026, against a $600 million fall in Q4 FY2025, and dealer inventory to end 2026 above its end-2025 level.
Power Generation sales
$3,421 million in Q3 FY2026, up from $2,634 million a year earlier. Filings do not say how much comes from data centers.
11Key facts
Key facts about Caterpillar
- What does Caterpillar do?
- Caterpillar makes construction and mining machines, engines, generator sets, turbines and locomotives, and lends to buyers through Cat Financial. Caterpillar had FY2025 sales and revenues of $67,589 million and 118,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025.
- How does Caterpillar make money, and what is its business model?
- Caterpillar's business model is building equipment and selling it mainly through independent dealers, then financing some of those sales. In FY2025, Caterpillar's sales of machinery, power and energy products were $63,980 million and its Financial Products revenues were $3,609 million.
- Is Caterpillar profitable?
- Caterpillar's FY2025 net income was $8,884 million, down from $10,792 million in FY2024, on operating profit of $11,151 million. Caterpillar's Q3 FY2026 net income was $3,287 million, up from $2,300 million a year earlier.
- What is Caterpillar's revenue by segment?
- Caterpillar's FY2025 sales to outside customers, on the basis recast for the Rail move, were $24,800 million from Construction Industries, $23,747 million from Power & Energy, $15,581 million from Resource Industries and $4,220 million from Financial Products. All Other added $46 million and corporate items took off $805 million, for a total of $67,589 million.
- Who are Caterpillar's customers?
- Caterpillar sells mainly through 41 US dealers and 109 dealers abroad to construction, mining, energy and rail customers in 190 countries. In FY2025, North America was 54.2% of Caterpillar's sales and revenues, Europe, Africa and the Middle East 18.9%, Asia/Pacific 16.6% and Latin America 10.3%. Caterpillar gives no split by type of end user.
- Who owns Caterpillar?
- Caterpillar's reported 5% holders include Vanguard Capital Management with 7.47% (Mar 31, 2026), State Street with 7.4% and BlackRock with 6.6% (both Dec 31, 2025). Caterpillar's officers and directors as a group held 1,508,118 shares on Jan 1, 2026, about 0.33% (Cityfort calculation from the 2026 proxy statementThe yearly filing about shareholder votes, the board and executive pay. Learn more). Caterpillar has one class of common stock.
- What is Caterpillar's Construction Industries business?
- Caterpillar's Construction Industries segment sells excavators, loaders, track-type tractors, motor graders and other machines. In FY2025 the segment had total sales of $25,060 million and segment profit of $4,675 million, down from $6,165 million in FY2024.
- What is Caterpillar's Power & Energy business?
- Caterpillar's Power & Energy segment sells engines, generator sets and turbines for power generation, oil and gas, marine and industrial uses. In FY2025, on the basis recast for the Rail move, the segment had total sales of $28,624 million and segment profit of $6,256 million. Power Generation sales to outside customers were $10,275 million.
- What is Caterpillar's Resource Industries business?
- Caterpillar's Resource Industries segment sells mining trucks, shovels, drills and large loaders, and has included Rail since Jan 1, 2026. In FY2025, on the basis recast for the Rail move, the segment had total sales of $15,920 million and segment profit of $2,151 million.
- What is Caterpillar's Financial Products business?
- Caterpillar's Financial Products segment is Cat Financial, which finances buyers and dealers, plus Insurance Services. In FY2025 the segment had total sales of $4,220 million and segment profit of $966 million. Financial Products debt was $34,551 million on Sep 30, 2026, out of Caterpillar's total debt of $45,201 million.
Sources (7)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
- Q3 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026: segment recast for the Rail move, Ex. 99.1
- Schedule 13G, Vanguard Capital Management (event Mar 31, 2026)
- 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A)
- 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026: Rail realignment, main document
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026)
Go deeper
More detail from the same filings. Open any section.
12What it sells
12What it sells
What does Caterpillar sell?
Construction machines
Excavators, backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, track-type tractors, motor graders, compactors and asphalt pavers for roads, buildings, quarries and rental fleets.
Mining machines
Large mining trucks, electric rope shovels, draglines, rotary drills and hard rock vehicles used to dig and haul copper, iron ore, coal, gold and other minerals.
Engines, generator sets and turbines
Reciprocating engines, generator sets, turbines and turbine services for power generation, oil and gas, marine and industrial customers.
Rail
Diesel-electric locomotives and related products and services. Rail moved from Power & Energy to Resource Industries on Jan 1, 2026.
Financing and insurance
Cat Financial offers retail and wholesale financing, and Insurance Services sells insurance. Financial Products revenues were $3,609 million in FY2025.
What it does
- Does: Sells most machines through independent dealers, who deal with the end customer.
- Does: Sells turbines and locomotives mostly direct.
- Does: Lends to buyers and dealers through Cat Financial.
What it does not do
- Does not: Own most of its dealers: the large majority are independent. It owns the dealer covering about 80% of Japan, and bought John Fabick Tractor Company on Oct 31, 2026.
- Does not: Report data center revenue: Power Generation sales of $10,275 million in FY2025 include other uses.
- Does not: Report backlog by segment or a services revenue amount in the filings used for this page.
13How the money flows
13How the money flows · FY2025
How does money flow through Caterpillar?
Money in
- Sales of machines, engines and turbines$64.0B
- Financial Products revenues$3.6B
- Other income ($892M) and profit of affiliates ($109M)$1.0B
The company
Caterpillar
$68.6B came in
Money out
- Cost of goods sold$44.8B
- Selling, general and administrative$7.0B
- Research and development$2.1B
- Other operating costs$1.2B
- Interest: $1,359M on Financial Products, $502M other$1.9B
- Income tax$2.8B
- Net income to common shareholders$8.9B
- Customers and dealers paid Caterpillar $67.6 billion in FY2025: $64.0 billion for products and $3.6 billion to Financial Products.
- Making those products cost $44.8 billion. Selling and administration took $7.0 billion and research and development $2.1 billion.
- Other costs, including $1,359 million of interest on Financial Products' borrowing, left an operating profit of $11,151 million.
- Other income of $892 million and affiliates' profit of $109 million came in. Other interest of $502 million and tax of $2,768 million went out.
- That left $8,884 million of net income for common shareholders.
14What it needs to run
14What it needs to run
What does Caterpillar need to run?
Dealers
41 dealers in the US and 109 abroad serve 190 countries. Dealer agreements can be ended at will on 90 days' notice.
A workforce
118,000 full-time employees at the end of 2025: 51,600 in the US and 66,400 abroad. Union agreements cover 7,972 US hourly workers.
Factories and inventory
On Sep 30, 2026, property, plant and equipment was $16,011 million and inventories were $22,214 million, up from $18,135 million at Dec 31, 2025.
Borrowed money for lending
Financial Products had $34,551 million of debt on Sep 30, 2026, against finance receivables (loans and leases owed by customers) of $25,453 million across the company.
15Where it sells
15Where it sells · FY2025
Where does Caterpillar sell?
- Outside the US51%
- Inside the US49%
16Competitors and what protects it
16Competitors and what protects it
Who does Caterpillar compete with?
Komatsu
Named by Caterpillar in construction machines and in surface and underground mining.
Deere Construction & Forestry
Named by Caterpillar in construction machines and surface mining.
Sany
Named by Caterpillar in construction machines, globally and among its competitors in China.
Cummins
Named by Caterpillar in Power & Energy, alongside Rolls-Royce Power Systems, Siemens Energy and others including GE Vernova.
Wells Fargo Equipment Finance
Named by Caterpillar as a rival to Cat Financial in equipment lending.
What protects the business
Each strength is scored 1 (weak) to 5 (strong) for the business, with the reason. It is not a rating of the share.
- Dealer network4 of 5
41 US dealers and 109 abroad serve 190 countries. Dealers can still leave: agreements can be ended at will on 90 days' notice.
- Orders already taken4 of 5
Caterpillar reported a backlog of about $78.1 billion on Sep 30, 2026, which it believes to be firm. About $32.6 billion is not expected to be filled within 12 months.
- Financing for buyers3 of 5
Caterpillar's FY2025 10-K says Cat Financial "provides financing support for a significant share of our global sales". It gives no percentage.
- Spread across end markets3 of 5
Three machinery and power segments each earned at least 15.3% of FY2025 segment profit (Cityfort calculation from the 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026).
Weak spot
Tariffs on its costs
Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q estimates about $2.2 billion of tariff costs in 2026, excluding about $520 million of recoveries. About 50% falls on Construction Industries.
17Where growth could come from
17Where growth could come from
Where could Caterpillar's growth come from?
Caterpillar said in its Nov 4, 2026 10-Q that it continues to expect FY2026 sales and revenues growth in the "mid-to-high teens" over 2025. In February 2026 it had pointed to around the top of 5% to 7%, and in May to low double digits. For Q4 FY2026 it expects moderate growth over Q4 FY2025.
Power Generation
Working$10,275M outside sales, FY2025
Up from $7,756 million in FY2024. Q3 FY2026 was $3,421 million, up from $2,634 million. Management said in the Nov 4, 2026 10-Q that growth came from energy demand for data centers. Caterpillar reports no data center revenue.
Status: Working, on track against what the company said.
Order backlog
WorkingAbout $78.1B, Sep 30, 2026
Up from about $51.2 billion at Dec 31, 2025 and about $30.0 billion at Dec 31, 2024. Caterpillar says the largest Q3 increase was in Power & Energy.
Status: Working, on track against what the company said.
Oil and gas
Working$7,502M outside sales, FY2025
Up from $6,980 million in FY2024. Q3 FY2026 was $2,236 million, up from $1,979 million a year earlier.
Status: Working, on track against what the company said.
Construction machines
Mixed$7,983M total sales, Q3 FY2026
Up from $6,760 million a year earlier, after a lower FY2025. Caterpillar said in its Nov 4, 2026 10-Q that it expects Q4 FY2026 sales similar to Q4 FY2025, with dealers cutting inventory by roughly $1.6 billion.
Status: Mixed, partly on track.
Mining and Rail
Mixed$3,697M and $832M, Q3 FY2026
Outside sales of mining, heavy construction, quarry and aggregates machines rose 22% from a year earlier. Rail fell 5%.
Status: Mixed, partly on track.
Owning a dealer
New$1.24B cash at closing
Caterpillar bought John Fabick Tractor Company, a dealer in Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on Oct 31, 2026, with about $165 million to follow. Reported numbers exclude it.
Status: New, recently announced.
Status compares progress with what the company itself said it would do: Working = on track against what the company said; Mixed = partly on track; Behind = behind the company's own plan; New = recently announced; Early = too early to judge.
18The company's own measures (non-GAAP)
18The company's own measures · FY2025 and Q3 FY2026, unless the row says otherwise
What do Caterpillar's own measures show?
Official (GAAP): Operating margin, FY2025
16.5%
Company's own measure: Adjusted operating margin, FY2025
17.2%
Caterpillar leaves out restructuring income and costs.
Official (GAAP): Diluted EPS, FY2025
$18.81
Company's own measure: Adjusted profit per share, FY2025
$19.06
Adds back $0.73 of restructuring and removes $0.48 of pension and retiree mark-to-market gains.
Official (GAAP): Operating margin, Q3 FY2026
20.4%
Company's own measure: Adjusted operating margin, Q3 FY2026
20.6%
Both figures include $128 million of tariff recoveries, because the adjustment removes only restructuring.
Official (GAAP): Operating margin, Q2 FY2026
20.9%
Company's own measure: Adjusted operating margin, Q2 FY2026
21.9%
Both figures include $392 million of tariff recoveries.
Official (GAAP): Diluted EPS, Q3 FY2026
$7.13
Company's own measure: Adjusted profit per share, Q3 FY2026
$7.20
Leaves out restructuring costs, and includes the $128 million of tariff recoveries.
Official (GAAP): Operating cash flow, FY2025
$11.7B
Company's own measure: Machinery, Power & Energy free cash flow, FY2025
$9.5B
Caterpillar's measure: cash from machinery, power and energy operations minus that business's capital spending, excluding discretionary pension contributions. The free cash flow in "The numbers" covers the whole company instead ($7,453 million). Older filings call this business ME&T.
Official (GAAP): Operating cash flow, nine months of FY2026
$10.6B
Company's own measure: Machinery, Power & Energy free cash flow, nine months of FY2026
$9.5B
Same definition. It was $5,801 million in the same period of FY2025.
Official (GAAP): Unsatisfied performance obligations, contracts over one year, Sep 30, 2026 (about)
$49.4B
Company's own measure: Backlog, Sep 30, 2026 (about)
$78.1B
Orders Caterpillar believes to be firm, as it reports them. About $32.6 billion is not expected to be filled in the next 12 months. It is not a GAAP figure, and the GAAP measure leaves out contracts of one year or less. Contract liabilities, customer payments received ahead of revenue, were $8,706 million.
Official (GAAP): Unsatisfied performance obligations, contracts over one year, Dec 31, 2025 (about)
$30.1B
Company's own measure: Backlog, Dec 31, 2025 (about)
$51.2B
Same measure. About $19.3 billion was not expected to be filled in 2026. Backlog was about $39.8 billion on Sep 30, 2025, and about $28.7 billion on Sep 30, 2024.
These are the company's own measures, defined by the company. They are not comparable across companies, and they are not added together. Each sits beside the nearest official (GAAP) figure.
Learn: Non-GAAP measures: what a company's "adjusted" numbers leave out
19Financial strength and debt
19Financial strength · Sep 30, 2026
How much debt does Caterpillar have?
- Total debt$45.2B
- Cash and investments$7.9B
- Net debt (debt minus cash)$37.3B
- Net worth (shareholders' money)$21.5B
- Debt to equity
- 2.1×
- $ of debt for every $1 of shareholders' money
- Net debt of $37,272 million is total debt minus cash (Cityfort calculation from the Q3 FY2026 10-Q and earnings release). Total debt was $43,330 million at Dec 31, 2025.
- Financial Products debt of $34,551 million funds Cat Financial's lending. Finance receivables (loans and leases owed by customers) were $25,453 million.
- The machinery, power and energy business owed outside lenders $10,650 million and held $7,102 million of cash: net debt of $3,548 million (Cityfort calculation from the Q3 FY2026 earnings release). Its supplemental data shows $10,949 million, including borrowing from Cat Financial.
- Interest cover is left blank: $1,359 million of FY2025 Financial Products interest sits inside operating costs, and only $502 million sits below operating profit.
- Debt to equity of 2.1 uses shareholders' equity of $21,482 million. Caterpillar's 10-Q shows no borrowings under $11.5 billion of global credit facilities on Sep 30, 2026.
- Customer advances on the balance sheet rose from $3,314 million to $5,329 million in nine months. Contract liabilities, held in Customer advances and Other liabilities, rose from $4,678 million to $8,706 million. The $4,002 million customer-advances line in nine-month operating cash flow of $10,593 million tracks that second rise.
20Who owns it
20Who owns it · ownership as of Jan 1, 2026
Who owns Caterpillar?
- Officers and directors (as a group), shares
- 0.3%
Share classes
Holders of 5% or more
From the company's proxy statement (DEF 14A), later Schedule 13G filings and the share counts on its latest annual or quarterly report. Each holder row shows the date of its own filing.
Learn: How to read a proxy statement (DEF 14A): Nvidia's 2026 proxy · Form 4 insider filings: who files, the codes and the footnotes
Sources (6)
21What it does with profit
21What it does with profit
What does Caterpillar do with its profit?
Dividend per share
$5.94FY2025
Dividend paid for each share, by financial year.
$ per share
See the numbers
Buyback · Dec 31, 2023
Common stock repurchased in FY2023.
$5.0B
Buyback · Dec 31, 2024
Common stock repurchased in FY2024.
$7.7B
Buyback · Dec 31, 2025
Common stock repurchased in FY2025.
$5.2B
Buyback · Sep 30, 2026
Common stock repurchased in the first nine months of FY2026, including accelerated agreements, so cash spent and shares received differ by quarter.
$7.7B
22Governance signals
22Governance signals
What do Caterpillar's governance filings show?
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Auditor changes
- None in the period covered
- Audit qualifications
- None reported
- Related-party dealings
- The proxy reports two related-party items. Joseph Creed's brother-in-law left in February 2025 with a $183,089 separation payment. Jason Kaiser's brother-in-law earned about $210,000 in 2025 as a manager of product support.
- Credit rating
- Fitch and Moody's / S&P high-A / mid-A (Not stated in the 10-Q), Nov 4, 2026
A credit rating describes the company's ability to repay debt. It is not a rating of the share.
Flags to know about
other · Apr 1, 2026
CEO is also Chairman
Joseph E. Creed has held both roles since Apr 1, 2026, when D. James Umpleby III left the board.
other · Jun 11, 2026
Shareholder proposal on written consent
At the 2026 annual meeting, a shareholder proposal on acting by written consent was not approved: 127,707,438 for, 195,268,191 against and 2,477,721 abstaining.
disclosure
What the filings do not break out
The filings used here give no revenue by customer or for data centers, no backlog by segment, no services revenue amount and no market shares.
disclosure · Mar 26, 2026
Unaudited segment recast
The FY2024 and FY2025 segment figures recast for the Rail move come from an 8-K. They are unaudited and subject to additional adjustments.
other · Nov 4, 2026
Legal matters the company reports
Caterpillar's Nov 4, 2026 10-Q lists environmental remediation, litigation in Brazil over labor, tax and customs laws, and ordinary-course actions including product liability and claimed asbestos exposure. On Brazil, it says it cannot predict the outcome or reasonably estimate any losses, and believes these matters will not have a material adverse effect. On the ordinary-course actions, it says the range of reasonably possible losses above accruals is not material.
Sources (7)
- 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A)
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026)
- 8-K filed Jan 6, 2026: board leadership change
- 8-K filed Jun 11, 2026: 2026 annual meeting vote results
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
- 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026: segment recast for the Rail move, Ex. 99.1
- 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026: Rail realignment, main document
23What the market paid
23What the market paid · price as of Nov 4, 2026
What did the market pay for Caterpillar on Nov 4, 2026?
Price as of Nov 4, 2026 (shown for education; prices change daily).
Price as of Nov 4, 2026: a $591.30 close, from Nasdaq's historical price table for CAT; Caterpillar's shares are listed on the NYSE. Other closes were $713.38 on Oct 28, 2026 and $647.39 on Oct 29, 2026, the day Q3 results came out. Market value = $591.30 × 457,594,174 shares (10-Q cover, Sep 30, 2026) = $270,575 million (Cityfort calculation from the Nov 4, 2026 closing price and the Q3 FY2026 10-Q). P/E is price ÷ earnings per share: 23.2 on the last four quarters' diluted EPS of $25.49 (Cityfort calculation from the Nov 4, 2026 closing price and the Q4 FY2025 to Q3 FY2026 earnings releases), or 31.4 on FY2025 diluted EPS of $18.81. Dividend yield was 1.10% on $6.52, the $1.63 quarterly dividend kept in October 2026 × 4 (Cityfort calculation from the Nov 4, 2026 closing price and the Q3 FY2026 10-Q).
- Share price
- $591.30
- Market value (market cap)
- $270.6B
- P/E
- 23.2×
Source: CAT historical prices, Oct 26 to Nov 4, 2026 (Nasdaq.com historical table; CAT is listed on the NYSE); Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026); Q4 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) and 4 more
Sources (7)
- CAT historical prices, Oct 26 to Nov 4, 2026 (Nasdaq.com historical table; CAT is listed on the NYSE)
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026)
- Q4 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q1 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q2 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Q3 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
24How it got here
24How it got here
How did Caterpillar get here?
1925
Milestone
Organized
Organized as Caterpillar Tractor Co. in California in 1925, and reorganized as Caterpillar Inc. in Delaware in 1986.
2022
Crisis
Rail goodwill charge
Caterpillar took a $925 million goodwill impairment on Rail in FY2022, and its 10-K cover moved from Deerfield, Illinois to Irving, Texas.
2023
Milestone
Longwall business sold
Selling the Longwall business cost $586 million in FY2023.
2025
Business-model change
New CEO and tariffs
Joseph E. Creed became CEO on May 1, 2025. An Aug 28, 2025 8-K put the 2025 net tariff impact at $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion.
2026
Business-model change
Rail moves to Resource Industries
Rail left Power & Energy on Jan 1, 2026. Caterpillar also bought RPMGlobal, an Australian mining software company, on Feb 17, 2026 for about $733 million net of cash.
2026
Business-model change
Backlog reaches about $78.1 billion
Backlog rose from about $30.0 billion at Dec 31, 2024 to about $78.1 billion at Sep 30, 2026, with Power & Energy the largest Q3 increase.
2026
Milestone
Buys a dealer
On Oct 31, 2026, Caterpillar bought John Fabick Tractor Company, so it now owns the dealer in that territory.
Sources (8)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2023 (ended Dec 31, 2023)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2022 (ended Dec 31, 2022)
- Form 10-K, fiscal year 2021 (ended Dec 31, 2021)
- 2026 proxy statement (DEF 14A)
- 8-K filed Aug 28, 2025: tariff impact update
- 8-K filed Mar 26, 2026: Rail realignment, main document
- Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026)
25Sources and changes
Where every number on this page comes from
Sources (30 documents)
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 13, 2026
- S3Form 10-K, fiscal year 2023 (ended Dec 31, 2023) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 16, 2024
- S4Form 10-K, fiscal year 2022 (ended Dec 31, 2022) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 15, 2023
- S5Form 10-K, fiscal year 2021 (ended Dec 31, 2021) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Feb 16, 2022
- S6Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 (Sep 30, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Nov 4, 2026
- S7Form 10-Q, Q2 FY2026 (Jun 30, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Aug 5, 2026
- S8Form 10-Q, Q1 FY2026 (Mar 31, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · May 6, 2026
- S9Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2025 (Sep 30, 2025) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Nov 3, 2025
- S12Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2024 (Sep 30, 2024) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Nov 6, 2024
- S13Q3 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Oct 29, 2026
- S14Q2 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Aug 4, 2026
- S15Q1 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Apr 30, 2026
- S16Q4 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Jan 29, 2026
- S17Q3 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Oct 29, 2025
- S18Q2 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Aug 5, 2025
- S19Q1 FY2025 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Apr 30, 2025
- S20Q4 FY2024 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Jan 30, 2025
- S222026 proxy statement (DEF 14A) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Apr 30, 2026
- S238-K filed Mar 26, 2026: segment recast for the Rail move, Ex. 99.1 · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 26, 2026
- S248-K filed Mar 26, 2026: Rail realignment, main document · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 26, 2026
- S258-K filed Oct 15, 2026: Resource Industries leadership change, with Ex. 99.1 · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Oct 15, 2026
- S278-K filed Apr 10, 2026: CFO appointment · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Apr 10, 2026
- S288-K filed Jan 6, 2026: board leadership change · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Jan 6, 2026
- S298-K filed Aug 28, 2025: tariff impact update · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Aug 28, 2025
- S31Schedule 13G/A No. 12, The Vanguard Group (event Feb 27, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 5, 2026
- S32Schedule 13G/A No. 13, The Vanguard Group (event Mar 13, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Mar 26, 2026
- S33Schedule 13G, Vanguard Capital Management (event Mar 31, 2026) · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Apr 29, 2026
- S34CAT historical prices, Oct 26 to Nov 4, 2026 (Nasdaq.com historical table; CAT is listed on the NYSE) · Nasdaq, Inc. · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Nov 5, 2026
- S35EDGAR XBRL company facts, CIK 0000018230 · SEC (data.sec.gov) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Nov 5, 2026
- S368-K filed Jun 11, 2026: 2026 annual meeting vote results · Caterpillar Inc. (SEC EDGAR) · Tier 1: company or exchange filing · Jun 11, 2026
Changes to this page (v1 · Nov 5, 2026)
- v1 · Nov 5, 2026First version, through Q3 FY2026 (quarter ended Sep 30, 2026). (first version)
Numbers come only from tier 1 and tier 2 sources. Read how we research.
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