Caterpillar Reports First-Quarter 2025 Results

Core Insights - Caterpillar Inc. reported a 10% decrease in sales and revenues for the first quarter of 2025, totaling $14.2 billion compared to $15.8 billion in the same period of 2024, primarily due to lower sales volume and unfavorable price realization [2][8][12] - The company's profit per share also declined, with reported figures of $4.20 for Q1 2025 compared to $5.75 in Q1 2024 [3][12] Financial Performance - Sales and revenues for Q1 2025 were $14.249 billion, a decrease of $1.550 billion, or 10%, from $15.799 billion in Q1 2024, driven by lower sales volume of $1.1 billion and unfavorable price realization of $250 million [8][12] - Operating profit margin fell to 18.1% in Q1 2025 from 22.3% in Q1 2024, while adjusted operating profit margin was 18.3% compared to 22.2% [3][12] - The enterprise operating cash flow for Q1 2025 was $1.3 billion, with the company ending the quarter with $3.6 billion in cash [4][12] Segment Analysis - Construction Industries reported total sales of $5.184 billion in Q1 2025, a decrease of $1.240 billion, or 19%, compared to $6.424 billion in Q1 2024, primarily due to lower sales volume and unfavorable price realization [20][23] - Resource Industries saw total sales of $2.884 billion, down 10% from $3.193 billion, attributed to lower sales volume and unfavorable currency impacts [24][25] - Energy & Transportation's total sales were $6.568 billion, a slight decrease of 2% from $6.681 billion, with an increase in segment profit to $1.314 billion [26][29] Geographic Performance - Sales in North America decreased by 24% in the Construction Industries segment, while Latin America and EAME also experienced declines due to unfavorable currency impacts and lower sales volume [11][27] - In Asia/Pacific, sales decreased due to lower sales volume and unfavorable price realization, primarily related to the Japanese yen [11][27] Shareholder Returns - The company deployed $3.7 billion for share repurchases and $0.7 billion for dividends in Q1 2025, totaling over $4 billion returned to shareholders [4][5][12] - The strong balance sheet facilitated these shareholder returns despite the decline in sales and profits [5]