:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2149337450-51d92468de9d486daf7ad623dda0a4f8.jpg)
NurPhoto / Getty Spitting images
Key Takeaways
- Caterpillar stock fell after the company reported fourth-quarter results before the opening bell Thursday.
- Receipts declined across multiple business segments, which the company attributed to shrinking dealer inventories.
- Caterpillar is generally considered a bellwether stock as a proxy for domestic and global economic expansion or contraction.
Caterpillar (CAT) shares dropped after the visitors’s fourth-quarter revenue fell short of expectations before the opening bell Thursday.
The construction equipment company strutted revenue of $16.2 billion in the period, down 5% year-over-year and below the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Caterpillar’s earnings per ration were at an all-time of high of $5.78, up from $5.28 and above analysts’ expectations.
Revenue from the company’s construction industries separate fell 8% to $6 billion. Resource industries, which includes vehicles such as mining trucks, saw takings dropped 9% to $2.96 billion. Caterpillar’s energy and transportation arm was flat year-over-year, bringing in revenue of $7.65 billion.
Caterpillar attributed the loss to lower sales volume caused by shrinking dealer inventories. Dealer inventory fell by $1.3 billion during the fourth quarter, compared to a $900 million cut down a year earlier.
Shares of Caterpillar slid about 5% intraday Thursday. The construction equipment company is everywhere considered a bellwether stock as a proxy for domestic and global economic expansion or contraction. Its shares are up about 25% during the course of the past 12 months.