Caterpillar beats profit estimates on strong equipment demand

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(Reuters) – Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) on Thursday topped Wall Street estimates for profit and revenue as the industrial bellwether continued to benefit from equipment price increases and elevated energy prices.

Shares for the world’s largest construction and mining manufacturer were up 4.3% in premarket trading.

Net income for the Deerfield, Illinois-based company rose to $2.04 billion, beating analysts estimates for $1.68 billion. Revenue increased to $15 billion, topping predictions of $14.3 billion, according to Refinitiv.

“We continued to see healthy demand across most of our end markets during the third quarter,” Chief Executive Jim Umpleby said.

However, supply-chain challenges have clipped its ability to ship units, elevating costs, resulting in the industrial bellwether raising prices.

Demand for Caterpillar’s machines that are used in everything from homebuilding to mining is an indicator of business confidence and broader economic activity.

With drilling activity surging in the first half of the year, Caterpillar’s resource division saw the biggest jump with total sales increasing 30% overall.

In the previous quarter, the company had flagged a bigger drop in demand for its excavators in its growth market, China.

Caterpillar’s adjusted profit rose to $3.95 per share, outpacing estimates of $3.16 per share.

(This story has been refiled to change the day of the week to Thursday in paragraph 1.)