Here's What Key Metrics Tell Us About Caterpillar (CAT) Q1 Earnings

Core Insights - Caterpillar (CAT) reported a revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter ended March 2025, reflecting a decline of 9.8% year-over-year and a surprise of -2.01% compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.54 billion [1] - The earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter was $4.25, down from $5.60 in the same quarter last year, with an EPS surprise of -1.16% against the consensus estimate of $4.30 [1] Financial Performance Metrics - Total sales volume decreased by $1.11 billion, slightly better than the estimated decline of $1.15 billion [4] - Sales volume in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation - Construction Industries segment was down $820 million, compared to an estimate of $722.63 million [4] - Sales volume in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation - Resource Industries segment was down $179 million, outperforming the average estimate of a $360.04 million decline [4] - Price realization in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation - Energy & Transportation segment was $155 million, significantly higher than the estimated $60.29 million [4] - Sales and revenues from Asia/Pacific in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation segment were $2.40 billion, below the estimate of $2.58 billion, representing a year-over-year decline of 11.9% [4] - Sales and revenues from Latin America in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation segment were $1.44 billion, slightly above the estimate of $1.43 billion, with a year-over-year decline of 2.8% [4] - Sales and revenues from North America in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation segment were $7.14 billion, below the estimate of $7.20 billion, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 10.9% [4] - Total sales and revenues in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation - Construction Industries segment were $5.18 billion, below the estimate of $5.47 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 19.3% [4] - Total sales and revenues in the Financial Products segment were $871 million, slightly below the estimate of $895.58 million, but showing a year-over-year increase of 3.8% [4] - Total sales and revenues in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation segment were $13.38 billion, below the estimate of $13.66 billion, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 10.6% [4] - Total sales and revenues in the Machinery, Energy & Transportation - Resource Industries segment were $2.88 billion, slightly above the estimate of $2.85 billion, with a year-over-year decline of 9.7% [4] Stock Performance - Caterpillar's shares have returned -7% over the past month, compared to a -0.2% change in the Zacks S&P 500 composite [3] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), suggesting it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term [3]