Caterpillar third-quarter sales rise 17 percent

Caterpillar reported third-quarter 2026 sales and revenues of $20.7 billion, up 17 percent from a year earlier, with profit per share of $7.13 and adjusted profit per share of $7.20, in an 8-K filed Thursday morning.

Why it matters: Caterpillar is a direct read on construction, mining and power equipment demand, and management cited strong order rates and a record backlog, with sales up across all three primary segments.

Data as of Caterpillar's third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Exhibit 99.1 to its Form 8-K filed October 29, 2026 (accession 0000018230-26-000052), read in full from the filing text in this run. All figures are the company's own; no consensus estimate was read in this run, so no beat or miss is claimed. Single primary source, the filing itself, hence grade B. Developing item.

Caterpillar’s third quarter came in well ahead of last year. Sales and revenues were $20.7 billion, up 17 percent from $17.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025, driven by $2.2 billion of higher sales volume and $663 million of favourable price realization. Profit per share was $7.13, against $4.88 a year earlier, and adjusted profit per share was $7.20, against $4.95. The operating profit margin was 20.4 percent, up from 17.3 percent.

Chairman and CEO Joe Creed said order rates were strong and the backlog is at a record. Sales rose in all three primary segments: Power and Energy up 18 percent to $8.8 billion, Construction Industries up 18 percent to $8.0 billion, and Resource Industries up 15 percent to $4.6 billion. Enterprise operating cash flow was $4.4 billion, the company ended the quarter with $7.9 billion of enterprise cash, and it returned $2.0 billion through share repurchases and dividends.

Caterpillar third-quarter sales rise 17 percent

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