ab 15 September 2025 Global Research Chemicals Sector What are North American investors focused on? Last week we met with 20+ institutions across North America. Discussions focused on earnings risk for FY25 and what could drive earnings recovery in FY26. Investors seemed to doubt the sector's ability to achieve top-line inflection and double-digit earnings growth in FY26. Key topics of focus were: (1) how have volumes in end markets & regions developed through 3Q?; we walked through the feedback from the Gl ...

Core Insights - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) reported a net volume increase of $237 million in Q2 2025, marking a recovery after six consecutive quarters of volume declines [1][8] - The Energy & Transportation (E&T) segment contributed significantly with a $326 million increase, offsetting declines in Construction Industries and Resource Industries [1][8] - Despite ongoing challenges, the second-quarter recovery indicates potential stabilization in the market [4][8] Company Performance - The Construction Industries segment has experienced negative volume growth for seven consecutive quarters, while Resource Industries has seen declines for eight quarters [2] - In 2024, CAT faced a total volume decline of $3.5 billion, followed by an additional $1.1 billion decline in Q1 2025, primarily due to sluggish demand and inventory drawdowns [3] - The company expects moderate year-over-year sales growth in Q3 2025, supported by improved volumes across all segments [4] Industry Context - Industry peers such as Terex Corporation and Komatsu Ltd. are also facing challenges, with Terex reporting six quarters of negative organic growth and Komatsu expecting a flat to 5% decline in demand for construction and mining equipment [5][6] - Ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and tariff pressures have negatively impacted demand across the sector [4] Stock Performance and Valuation - CAT shares have increased by 19.7% year-to-date, outperforming the industry average of 19% and the S&P 500's 6.8% growth [7] - The current forward 12-month price/earnings (P/E) ratio for CAT is 21.35X, compared to the industry average of 20.21X [10] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a 14.2% decline in earnings for 2025, with a projected revenue drop of 2.4%, but a rebound is expected in 2026 with earnings growth of 13.8% [11]