Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT ) plummeted on Tuesday morning after the company reported lower net income, which missed analysts’ expectations.
CAT's Earnings in Brief
- CAT reported earnings of $757 million, or $1.23 per share, down from $1.00 billion, or $1.54 per share, last year.
- Excluding special items related to restructuring costs, EPS was $1.35 – below analysts’ estimate of $1.55.
- Revenue declined to $14.24 billion, down from $14.40 billion a year ago. Analysts expected to see revenue of $14.18 billion.
- Looking forward to FY2015, the company expects to see revenue of about $50 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.75. Analysts expect to see $55.01 billion in revenue and $6.67 per share in earnings.
CEO Commentary
CAT’s chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman commented: "Overall, we had many positives and a better year in 2014 than 2013. Our emphasis on cost management, operational execution and cash flow helped us deliver better profit per share than both 2013 and the 2014 outlook we provided at the start of the year.”
CAT's Dividend
CAT will pay its next 70 cent dividend on February 20. The stock went ex-dividend on January 15.
Stock Performance
Shares of CAT were down $6.25, or 7.26%, during pre-market trading Tuesday.
The Bottom Line
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars.
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.
