Caterpillar Crushes Earnings Expectations with Record-Breaking Quarter

Caterpillar Inc., a heavy equipment manufacturer, saw its stock close higher on Tuesday after reporting its first $20 billion quarter.

The company's fiscal Q2 results showed a 24% year-over-year increase in revenue and $8.17 earnings per share (EPS), beating the consensus estimate of $6.25 per share.

The strength in Caterpillar's performance was driven by higher equipment sales to end users, which contributed $3.11 billion in volume growth, alongside $595 million in favorable price realization.

Operational demand was broad-based across construction, resource, and power and energy segments, with the latter fueled by rising AI data center demand.

The firm's order backlog nearly doubled to $72 billion, providing significant visibility into future revenue, while expanding operating margin stood at 21.9% in the second quarter.