InvestIdeas

Not vested.

Caterpillar Inc. expects record sales this year as booming demand for construction and mining equipment in China and other emerging economies offsets weakness in its home U.S. market, its chairman said Thursday.

In Asia, Caterpillar has so many orders for heavy mining and power generation equipment that it is sold out of most items through 2010, he said.

The sales forecast highlighted the key role played by China and other emerging economies in driving sales for global companies at a time when demand in the United States, Western Europe and Japan is flagging.

Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Illinois, expects sales in China to top $2 billion this year, helping to push global sales to just over $50 billion, Owens said. The company is the world's biggest producer of construction and mining equipment and a major supplier of power-generation equipment.

– Associated Press

w : my friend whose company he works in, distributes caterpillar and other heavy equipment products throughout asia. he told me recently... business has slowed considerably..including china and russia... i was quite surprised. his company is not a small kichi sized firm.

Ha Ha... Yes, I recall our discussion on the above.

So there's a disconnect between the article above and what is happening on the ground then..

So maybe after 2010, things may slow-down

Caterpillar Profit Falls 6.4% on Higher Costs of Materials

By Courtney Dentch

Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, said third-quarter profit fell 6.4 percent as costs rose for steel and other materials.

Net income declined to $868 million, or $1.39 a share, from $927 million, or $1.40, a year earlier, the Peoria, Illinois- based company said today in a statement sent by PR Newswire. Sales rose 13 percent to $13 billion.

The average of 18 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for profit of $1.41 a share on sales of $12.1 billion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Courtney Dentch in New York at [email protected].

Caterpillar posts stronger-than-expected earnings

Futures jump after strong Caterpillar results
Caterpillar rises after results

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. machinery maker Caterpillar Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday, and raised its full-year outlook, citing signs of stabilization in the world's credit markets and economies.

The company, the world's largest maker of mining and construction vehicles, reported a second-quarter net profit of $371 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with $1.11 billion, or $1.74 a share, last year.

Sales and revenue fell 41 percent to $7.98 billion.

Stripping out costs associated with layoffs and restructuring, Caterpillar made 72 cents a share.

Analysts, on average, had expected the Peoria, Illinois-based company to report a profit of 22 cents a share on sales of $8.36 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The better-than-expected results sent Caterpillar's shares up $3 to $39.65 in premarket trading.

What slowdown ?

Caterpillar sales accelerate across the globe

Caterpillar says its machine sales in August leaped 37 percent worldwide in August, led by surging sales in Latin and North America.

The results, announced Friday in a regulatory filing, highlight a shift in the world's appetite for construction and mining equipment. The sales growth rate slowed in Asia, while it surged in Latin America and picked up slightly in the United States and Canada.

Sales in Latin America jumped 57 percent in August over the same month a year ago. North American sales rose 40 percent. Sales in Asia rose 32 percent.

Because Caterpillar's iconic yellow-and-black equipment is used in many sectors around the world, the company's sales are considered a strong indicator of global economic health.

Source: AP News

Caterpillar profit soars 96 pct on strong sales

Strong sales growth in developing countries pushed Caterpillar's third-quarter earnings 96 percent higher, and the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment increased its outlook for this year.

Caterpillar said Thursday it earned $792 million net income, or $1.22 per share, in the third quarter. That's well above the $404 million, or 64 cents per share, the Peoria, Ill., company reported last year.

The company, whose sales are considered a strong indicator of global economic health, says revenue jumped 53 percent to $11.13 billion from last year's $7.3 billion.

Caterpillar easily beat expectations of $1.09 earnings per share on revenue of $10.48 billion.

Caterpillar's shares gained $1.36, or 1.7 percent, to $81.24 in premarket trading after the report's release.

Caterpillar now expects to earn between $3.80 and $4 per share in 2010. Previously, it predicted earnings between $3.15 and $3.85 per share.

The maker of yellow-and-black equipment said economic growth in developing regions, such as Asia and South America, played a key role in the improved sales figures, but sales in developed nations, such as the United States, have improved from last year's low levels.

"While we are expecting positive economic growth in the United States, the recovery is weaker than we've seen historically, particularly given the depth of the 2009 recession. To drive economic growth, we encourage government policy makers to advance pro-business initiatives and a growth agenda," CEO Doug Oberhelman said.

The company also said it expects its revenue to approach $50 billion in 2011. That's higher than the $41 billion to $42 billion Caterpillar expects this year.

___

Online:

Caterpillar Inc.: http://www.cat.com

Source: AP News

Not vested. The analysts must be sleeping or purposely coming out with low estimates ...

Caterpillar posts stronger-than-expected profit

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by strong sales of its machines in Asia and Latin America and a sharp rebound in demand in North America, especially from mining customers.

The company also predicted it would post a 2011 profit "near $6.00 per share," slightly above the market consensus of $5.86, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, sending its shares higher in premarket trading.

Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of earth-moving equipment, said higher coal and metals prices lifted machine sales in nearly every part of the globe, including North America, where sales more than doubled.

It reported a fourth-quarter net profit of $968 million, or $1.47 a share, up from $232 million, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales at the company, which also makes diesel engines, gas turbines and railroad locomotives, rose 62 percent to $12.8 billion.

Analysts on average had expected the Peoria, Illinois-based company to earn $1.27 a share on sales of $11.63 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Caterpillar said its order backlog stood at $18.7 billion at the end of 2010, nearly double what it was at the end of 2009.

Demand continues to be especially strong for mining equipment, the company said, with customers having to wait between eight and 18 months for delivery.

Caterpillar shares, which closed Wednesday at $95.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, were up 2.7 percent at $98.26 in premarket trading on Thursday.

Source: Reuters US Online Report Business News