Companies /Industrials
Caterpillar Inc
NYSE: CAT Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery
$687.00
▼ $17.05 (−2.42%) today
Markets closed · 2:52pm ET

Caterpillar (CAT) Q4 2024 Earnings

Reported Jan 30, 2025, 6:32am ET · SEC source
$5.14
Beat +2.25%
EPS · est. $5.03
$16.2B
Miss −1.93%
Revenue · est. $16.5B
−8.2%
Trailing market
CAT vs S&P since report
4 quarters
Consecutive EPS beats

How Did CAT Stock React to Q4 2024 Earnings?

% change · around the report
−3%0+3%Jan 30Jan 31report 6:32am ETearnings+0.9%−1.7%
−3%0+3%Jan 30Jan 31earnings+0.9%−1.7%
CAT −1.7%S&P 500 +0.9%
−3%0+3%Jan 30Jan 31report 6:32am ETearnings+1.2%−1.7%
−3%0+3%Jan 30Jan 31earnings+1.2%−1.7%
CAT −1.7%NASDAQ +1.2%
−4%0+4%Jan 29Feb 7report 6:32am ETearnings+0.4%−2.5%
−4%0+4%Jan 29Feb 7earnings+0.4%−2.5%
CAT −2.5%S&P 500 +0.4%
−4%0+4%Jan 29Feb 7report 6:32am ETearnings+1.2%−2.5%
−4%0+4%Jan 29Feb 7earnings+1.2%−2.5%
CAT −2.5%NASDAQ +1.2%
−4.64%
Day of report
−0.94%
Next session
−2.54%
One week
−12.86%
30 days

S&P 500 over the same 30 days: −4.66%.

Did CAT Beat Earnings? Q4 2024 Results

Yes. Caterpillar reported Q4 2024 earnings of $5.14 a share on Jan 30, 2025, beating the $5.03 consensus estimate by 2.2%. Revenue was $16.2B against a $16.5B estimate.

Caterpillar posted a mixed fourth quarter, edging past earnings expectations while falling short on the top line as dealer destocking weighed heavily on equipment demand. The industrial giant reported adjusted EPS of $5.14 for Q4 2024, clearing the $5.03 consensus estimate by 2.25%, but revenue of $16.21 billion trailed the $16.53 billion expected and slid 5.0% from the prior-year period. The single biggest culprit was dealer inventory drawdowns, with dealers reducing inventories by $1.30 billion in the quarter compared to $900 million a year ago, a dynamic that shaved $859 million from sales volume alone. The weakness was concentrated in Construction Industries, where sales fell 8% to $6.00 billion and segment profit dropped 24% as favorable pricing that had buffered results in prior periods reversed course. Energy and Transportation offered a counterpoint, holding sales roughly flat at $7.65 billion while Power Generation surged on data center demand, a tailwind CEO Jim Umpleby has flagged as a durable growth driver even as the company braces for a sluggish start to 2025.

Key Takeaways
  • Lower sales volume of $859 million driven by dealer inventory destocking and lower equipment sales to end users
  • Dealer inventory decreased by $1.3 billion during Q4 2024 vs $900 million decrease in Q4 2023
  • Construction Industries experienced $300 million in unfavorable price realization
  • Energy & Transportation benefited from $221 million favorable price realization
  • Power Generation sales increased 22% driven by large reciprocating engines for data center applications
  • Discrete tax benefit of $224 million for tax law change related to currency translation lowered effective tax rate
  • Favorable foreign currency impacts drove higher other income

“I'm proud of our global team's strong performance in 2024 as they delivered record adjusted profit per share and strong ME&T free cash flow.”

Caterpillar CEO, on the earnings call

CAT YoY Financials

Q4 2024 vs Q4 2023 · SEC filings Q4 2023 Q4 2024
$0$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B$17.1B$16.2BRevenue$5.8B$5.9BGross Profit$3.1B$2.9BOperating Income$2.7B$2.8BNet Income
$0$5.0B$10.0B$15.0BRevenueGross ProfitOperating IncomeNet Income
CAT income statement, Q4 2024 versus Q4 2023
Metric Q4 2024 Q4 2023 Year over year
Revenue $16.2B $17.1B −5.0%
Gross Profit $5.9B $5.8B +2.2%
Operating Income $2.9B $3.1B −6.7%
Net Income $2.8B $2.7B +4.3%

CAT Revenue by Segment

Power & Energy$7.6B+0.0%
Construction Industries$6.0B−8.0%
Resource Industries$3.0B−9.0%
Power Generation$2.2B+22.0%
Oil and Gas$1.9B−14.0%
Industrial$928.0M−14.0%
Transportation$1.4B−1.0%
Financial Products$1.0B+4.0%

CAT Revenue by Geography

North America$8.2B−6.0%
EMEA$3.3B−2.0%
Asia Pacific$3.0B−3.0%
Latin America$1.8B−7.0%

Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.