Shares of Caterpillar Inc.
CAT,
shot up further into record territory Monday, after the maker of construction and mining equipment reported fourth-quarter profit that rose well above forecasts, with particular strength in its energy and transportation business.
And for the full-year, the company said sales reached the highest level in the company’s 98-year history, reflecting higher prices and increased volume.
The stock
CAT,
leaped 4.1% in premarket trading, after closing at record highs the past two sessions. The implied price gain was adding about 85 points to the price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
while Dow futures
YM00,
were down 36 points, or 0.1%.
For the quarter to Dec. 31, net income climbed to $2.68 billion, or $5.28 a share, from $1.45 billion, or $2.79 a share, in the same period a year ago.
Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $5.23 beat the FactSet consensus of $4.76. That marked the fourth straight quarter adjusted EPS was a double-digit percentage above expectations.
Revenue grew 2.8% to $17.07 billion, just above the FactSet consensus of $17.06 billion, as higher prices and favorable currency translation offset lower sales volume.
Among the company’s business segments, construction industries sales fell 5% to $6.85 billion, just below expectations of $6.88 billion, and resource industries sales declined 6% to $3.44 billion, but were above expectations of $3.29 billion.
Meanwhile, energy and transportation sales jumped 12% to $6.82 billion to beat forecasts of $6.7 billion, amid strength in the oil and gas, power generation and transportation businesses.
Operating profit margin improved to 18.4% from 10.1%.
The company did not provide guidance for 2024 in the earnings press release. The post-earnings conference call with analysts was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Caterpillar’s stock has soared 30.9% over the past three months through Friday, while the Dow has advanced 13.5%.
