Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) on Friday posted an 8% decline in the net sales in Q4 to $13.1 billion, as strong cost control hurt end-user demand. The topline also missed analysts’ projection of $13.41 billion.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing giant posted a Q4 profit of $ 2.63 per share, beating the Wall Street view of $2.37 per share.
CEO Jim Umpleby said, “We expect continued global economic uncertainty to pressure sales to users in 2020 and cause dealers to further reduce inventories. We have improved our lead times and remain prepared to respond quickly to any positive or negative changes in customer demand.
READ: Amazon (AMZN) stock jumps after smashing past Q4 earnings estimate
Operating profit margin was 14.1% for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared with 13.1% for the fourth quarter of 2018.
For the fiscal year 2020, the company currently expects adjusted EPS of $8.50 – $10.00.
Caterpillar shares were over 1.5% immediately following the announcement, thanks to the earnings beat. Over the last 12 months, CAT stock has mostly traded sidewise and is currently up about 2%.
Most Popular
IPO News: Monte Rosa Therapeutics will go public this week, here are a few things to know
Biotechnology company Monte Rosa Therapeutics is slated to go public this week. In a pandemic-ridden world, this industry is expanding at a healthy pace. The global biotechnology market is estimated
IPO News: What to look for when Elevation Oncology makes its Wall Street debut
The healthcare sector is going through a phase of consolidation, creating fresh opportunities for emerging companies in a market that is slowly recovering from the pandemic. Several pharmaceuticals firms have
American Airlines (AAL): Here’s what may or may not work for this airline stock
Shares of American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) have gained 42% since the beginning of this year and 50% over the past 12 months. Despite this, there is a mixed sentiment
