Caterpillar (CAT.US) Q3 performance exceeded expectations, but fell by nearly 10% before the market

Zhitong Finance App learned that Caterpillar (CAT.US)'s results for the third quarter of 2026 announced in advance of the US stock market on October 29, showing that sales and revenue for the quarter were US$20.68 billion, up 17% year on year; adjusted earnings per share were US$7.20, higher than market expectations of US$7.03, compared to US$4.95 for the same period last year; GAAP earnings per share were US$7.13. Operating profit was US$4.21 billion, up 38% year on year, and operating margin was 20.4%; adjusted operating margin was 20.6%, up 3.1 percentage points from the same period last year. The quarter's operating profit included tariff rebates of US$128 million.

Chairman and CEO Joe Creed said, “The third quarter results reflect the resilience of the terminal market, with strong orders and record on-hand orders. The team continues to execute strategic priorities in a dynamic environment, laying the foundation for strong year-round performance and creating long-term value for customers and shareholders.”

The three major sectors grew across the board. The sales volume of the electricity and energy sector was 8.78 billion US dollars, up 18%, of which power generation applications increased 30%, sector profit increased by 31%, profit margin 24.4%; construction industry sales increased by 18%, profit increased 33% to 1.83 billion US dollars; resource industry sales reached US$4.62 billion, up 15%, and profit margin fell slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 13.5%. In terms of terminal retail, global machinery retail sales increased 22% year-on-year in the third quarter. Among them, retail sales for power generation increased 75%, while retail growth in mining, heavy industry and gravel slowed to 8% from 15% in the second quarter, and railway retail sales fell 70%.

In terms of cash flow, corporate cash flow for the quarter was 4.4 billion US dollars, and corporate cash at the end of the quarter was 7.9 billion US dollars; operating cash flow for the first three quarters was 10.59 billion US dollars, up 30% year on year, and stock repurchases were 7.75 billion US dollars, up 60% year on year. The company used $1.2 billion to repurchase Caterpillar's common stock during the quarter and paid $700 million in dividends.

The company claims that it has set another record for on-hand orders, but it did not disclose the exact amount, nor did it give quantitative guidance for the whole year in a press release.

It is worth noting that although the core performance was higher than expected, the company's stock price suffered a sharp drop before the market. As of press release, it had plummeted 9.45% before the market.