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The
Illinois-based manufacturer of heavy machinery, a bellwether for
economic activity, said stronger retail demand led dealers to
boost inventories more in the latest quarter than a year ago,
driving sales across all its three primary segments.
Adjusted profit was $2.87 per share, up from $1.65 per share a
year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, on average,
expected earnings of $1.94 per share.
The company's shares were up about 3% at $239.25 in premarket
trading. The stock has surged 27% since its last earnings
report, outperforming the broader blue chip Dow Jones Industrial
Average.
Equipment sales rose 13% year-on-year to $11.2 billion, led by a
72% surge in construction machine sales in Asia.
"We're encouraged by improving conditions in our end markets and
are proactively managing supply chain risks," said Caterpillar
Chief Executive Jim Umpleby.
The International Monetary Fund said earlier this month that
unprecedented public spending to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,
primarily by the United States, would push global growth to 6%
this year, the fastest pace since 1976, after the steepest
annual downturn of the post-war era last year.
Investors are also betting rising commodity prices and the U.S.
administration's proposed infrastructure stimulus will lift
demand for Caterpillar's yellow bulldozers, mining trucks and
other equipment.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb
Chakrabarty and Bernadette Baum)
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