CAT Clawing Its Way Up

Caterpillar Inc. reported results during pre-market hours, beating on both earnings and revenue estimates. CAT is currently trading higher by almost 4% in pre-market activity

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) announced earnings results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2014 (1QFY14; ended Mar 31, 2014) today, before the market opened. The company beat the Street’s estimates on both earnings and revenues, pushing its price up 4% higher in pre-market hours.

Caterpillar, the world’s leading industrial machines manufacturer, reported earnings per share of $1.61, comfortably higher than analysts’ estimates of $1.23. Revenues for the company came in at $13.24 billion, beating estimates by $100 million, and remaining flat from 1QFY13.

Although the company has struggled on many fronts, its stock price is up nearly 14% year-to-date, compared to the S&P 500 which is up less than 2% over the same period. The company reported that sales for its dealer network were down 12% on a three-month rolling basis. North America was the only region that saw an increase (6%), while Latin America, and the Europe, Africa, and Middle East (EAME) regions were both down over 21%. Asia-Pacific also saw declines of 20% in terms of end user demand.