By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock fell by more than 2% in Friday’s premarket as the mining equipment maker’s forecast of softer margins in the third quarter overshadowed its strong earnings for the April-June period.
The company's adjusted operating profit margin was 14.1% in the June quarter. That said, compared with the third quarter of last year, this profit margin is seen higher.
The maker of construction equipment benefited from high demand for its mining apparatus and engines as economies rebounded and infrastructure and construction activities resumed.
Companies choosing to have higher inventory this time as compared with last year when the pandemic raged and most economic activity came to a standstill also helped the Caterpillar increase revenue.
Sales and revenue jumped 29% to $12.9 billion. Adjusted profit per share more than doubled to $2.60 and topped analysts’ expectation of $2.41.