Caterpillar hits record quarterly revenue as construction demand accelerates
The industrial manufacturer generated $20.5 billion in sales during the second quarter, the first time the company has exceeded $20 billion in a single period.
Caterpillar (CAT) reported record quarterly sales of $20.5 billion.
The results marked a period of accelerating growth and margin expansion for the construction and mining equipment maker. Revenue growth rose to 24% year-over-year in the second quarter, up from 22% in the first quarter and 10% in the third quarter of 2025.
Operating profit margin expanded to 20.9% from 17.3% in the second quarter of 2025. This followed a period of stagnation where margins sat at 17.7% in the first quarter of 2026 and 17.3% in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted operating profit margin followed a similar trajectory, rising to 21.9% from 17.6% a year earlier.
Growth was driven by $3.1 billion in higher sales volume and $595 million in favorable price realization. These figures exceeded the first quarter's volume gains of $2.3 billion and pricing gains of $426 million.
The Construction Industries segment led the company's performance with a 35% year-over-year increase in sales. Profit margin for the segment expanded 3.2 percentage points to 23.3%. The Resource Industries segment saw sales grow 20% with a margin of 14.9%, while the Power & Energy segment grew 17% with a margin of 24.6%.
Financial Products segment profit rose 32% to $328 million, while past dues improved to 1.31% from 1.62% in the prior-year period. The company included $392 million in expected International Emergency Economic Power Act tariff recoveries in its operating profit.
Caterpillar recorded $139 million in restructuring costs related to the divestiture of certain non-U.S. entities.
The company increased its quarterly dividend by 8% to $1.63 a share. Total cash deployed for dividends and share repurchases was $2.2 billion, a decrease from the $5.7 billion deployed in the first quarter.