Caterpillar posts Q4 earnings beat, warns of 2025 weakness

(Sharecast News) - Caterpillar reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations on Thursday, but warned that sales and revenue for 2025 were likely to decline compared to the prior year. The company's adjusted earnings per share stood at $5.14, surpassing the consensus estimate, but revenue fell short of forecasts, leading to a decline in its stock price.

Fourth-quarter revenue totalled $16.22bn, down 5% from the prior year and below the $16.64bn analysts had projected.

The drop was put down to lower sales volume, with dealer inventories decreasing by $1.3bn during the quarter.

For the full 2024 year, Caterpillar said sales and revenue fell 3% to $64.8bn, reflecting weaker demand, though partially offset by favorable pricing adjustments.

Segment performance showed broad declines - construction industries sales dropped 8% year-on-year to $6bn, while resource industries revenue declined 9% to $2.96bn.

The energy and transportation division remained stable at $7.65bn.

Despite the weaker sales, Caterpillar said it maintained strong cash flow, ending the year with $6.9bn in enterprise cash.

The company said it spent $7.7bn on share buybacks and $2.6bn on dividends in 2024.

At 0739 EST (1239 GMT), shares in Caterpillar were down 3.97% in premarket trading in New York at $377.61.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.