UH-OH: Global Bellwether Caterpillar Misses Estimates, Reduces Full-Year Forecasts
Caterpillar's earnings are out, and it's a miss.
EPS of $1.31 came in short of forecasts at $1.40.
Revenue of $13.2 billion is short of estimates of $13.7 billion.
The company has also cut its outlook.
The full report is here, and below is a key section.
Note that growth in China is more challenging than expected, whereas the company remains optimistic with respect to US housing.
We have revised our outlook for 2013 to reflect sales and revenues in a range of $57 to $61 billion, with profit per share of about $7.00 at the middle of the sales and revenues outlook range. The previous outlook for 2013 sales and revenues was a range of $60 to $68 billion and profit per share of $7.00 to $9.00.
"What's happening in our business and in the economy overall is a mixed picture. Conditions in the world economy seem relatively stable, and we continue to expect slow growth in 2013," said Oberhelman.
"As we began 2013, we were concerned about economic growth in the United States and China and are pleased with the relative stability we have seen so far this year. In the United States, we are encouraged by progress so far and are becoming more optimistic on the housing sector in particular. In China, first quarter economic growth was slightly less than many expected, but in our view, remains consistent with slow growth in the world economy. In fact, our sales in China were higher in the first quarter of 2013 than they were in the first quarter of 2012, and machine inventories in China have declined substantially from a year ago," said Oberhelman.