Caterpillar Reports Second-Quarter 2024 Results

PRNewswire 6-Aug-2024 6:30 AM

• Second-quarter 2024 profit per share of $5.48; adjusted profit per share of $5.99
• Enterprise operating cash flow was $3.0 billion in the second quarter of 2024
• Deployed $2.5 billion of cash for share repurchases and dividends in the second quarter

IRVING, Texas, Aug. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) announced second-quarter 2024 results. Sales and revenues for the second quarter of 2024 were $16.7 billion, a 4% decrease compared with $17.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volume, partially offset by favorable price realization.

Operating profit margin was 20.9% for the second quarter of 2024, compared with 21.1% for the second quarter of 2023. Adjusted operating profit margin was 22.4% for the second quarter of 2024, compared with 21.3% for the second quarter of 2023. Second-quarter 2024 profit per share was $5.48, compared with second-quarter 2023 profit per share of $5.67. Adjusted profit per share in the second quarter of 2024 was $5.99, compared with second-quarter 2023 adjusted profit per share of $5.55. For the second quarter of 2024 and 2023, adjusted operating profit margin and adjusted profit per share excluded restructuring costs. Second-quarter 2023 adjusted profit per share also excluded a discrete tax benefit to adjust deferred tax balances.

For the second quarter of 2024, enterprise operating cash flow was $3.0 billion, and the company ended the second quarter with $4.3 billion of enterprise cash. In the quarter, the company deployed $1.8 billion of cash for repurchases of Caterpillar common stock and $0.6 billion of cash for dividends.

"I'd like to thank our team for delivering another strong quarter, including higher adjusted operating profit margin, record adjusted profit per share and robust ME&T free cash flow," said Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. "Our results continue to reflect the benefit of the diversity of our end markets as well as the disciplined execution of our strategy for long-term profitable growth."

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

Consolidated Sales and Revenues

Consolidated Sales and Revenues Comparison
Second Quarter 2024 vs. Second Quarter 2023 

To access this chart, go to https://investors.caterpillar.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx for the downloadable version of Caterpillar second-quarter 2024 earnings.  

The chart above graphically illustrates reasons for the change in consolidated sales and revenues between the second quarter of 2023 (at left) and the second quarter of 2024 (at right). Caterpillar management utilizes these charts internally to visually communicate with the company's board of directors and employees.

Total sales and revenues for the second quarter of 2024 were $16.689 billion, a decrease of $629 million, or 4%, compared with $17.318 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volume of $1.206 billion, partially offset by favorable price realization of $578 million. The decrease in sales volume was mainly driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory decreased during the second quarter of 2024, compared with an increase during the second quarter of 2023.

In the three primary segments, sales were lower in Construction Industries and Resource Industries and higher in Energy & Transportation.

Consolidated Operating Profit

Consolidated Operating Profit Comparison
Second Quarter 2024 vs. Second Quarter 2023 

To access this chart, go to https://investors.caterpillar.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx for the downloadable version of Caterpillar second-quarter 2024 earnings.  

The chart above graphically illustrates reasons for the change in consolidated operating profit between the second quarter of 2023 (at left) and the second quarter of 2024 (at right). Caterpillar management utilizes these charts internally to visually communicate with the company's board of directors and employees. The bar titled Other includes consolidating adjustments and Machinery, Energy & Transportation's other operating (income) expenses.

Operating profit for the second quarter of 2024 was $3.482 billion, a decrease of $170 million, or 5%, compared with $3.652 billion in the second quarter of 2023. Favorable price realization of $578 million was more than offset by the profit impact of lower sales volume of $431 million, higher restructuring costs of $227 million and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) and research and development (R&D) expenses of $79 million. The increase in SG&A/R&D expenses was primarily driven by investments aligned with strategic initiatives.

In the second quarter of 2024, restructuring costs increased primarily due to the divestiture of two non-U.S. entities.

Other Profit/Loss and Tax Items

• Other income (expense) in the second quarter of 2024 was income of $155 million, compared with income of $127 million in the second quarter of 2023. The change was primarily driven by favorable impacts from commodity hedges.
  
  
• The effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2024 was 23.9% compared to 20.6% for the second quarter of 2023. Excluding the discrete items discussed below, the second quarter 2024 estimated annual tax rate was 22.5% compared with 23.0% for the second quarter of 2023.
  
  The 2024 estimated annual tax rate excludes the impact of second-quarter losses of $228 million for the divestiture of two non-U.S. entities with no related tax benefit. In addition, a discrete tax benefit of $4 million was recorded in the second quarter of 2024 for the settlement of stock-based compensation awards with associated tax deductions in excess of cumulative U.S. GAAP compensation expense. In the second quarter of 2023, the company recorded a discrete tax benefit of $88 million due to a change in the valuation allowance for certain deferred tax assets.
  
  Please see a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures in the appendix on pages 13 and 14.

Construction Industries' total sales were $6.683 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $471 million, or 7%, compared with $7.154 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volume of $588 million, partially offset by favorable price realization of $178 million. The decrease in sales volume was mainly driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory remained about flat during the second quarter of 2024, compared to an increase during the second quarter of 2023.

• Sales in North America were about flat. Lower sales volume was offset by favorable price realization. Lower sales volume was mainly driven by lower sales of equipment to end users.
• Sales increased in Latin America mainly due to higher sales volume. Higher sales volume was primarily driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory increased during the second quarter of 2024, compared with a decrease during the second quarter of 2023.
• In EAME, sales decreased primarily due to lower sales volume. Lower sales volume was mainly driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory decreased during the second quarter of 2024, compared with an increase during the second quarter of 2023.
• Sales decreased in Asia/Pacific mainly due to lower sales volume and unfavorable currency impacts primarily related to the Japanese yen. Lower sales volume was mainly driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory decreased during the second quarter of 2024, compared with an increase during the second quarter of 2023.

Construction Industries' segment profit was $1.741 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $62 million, or 3%, compared with $1.803 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was mainly due to the profit impact of lower sales volume of $288 million and higher SG&A/R&D expenses of $30 million, partially offset by favorable price realization of $178 million, favorable manufacturing costs of $62 million and favorable other segment items of $16 million. The increase in SG&A/R&D expenses was primarily driven by investments aligned with strategic initiatives. Favorable manufacturing costs largely reflected lower material costs. Favorable other segment items primarily consisted of favorable currency impacts.

Resource Industries' total sales were $3.206 billion in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $357 million, or 10%, compared with $3.563 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales volume of $475 million, partially offset by favorable price realization of $133 million. The decrease in sales volume was mainly driven by the impact from changes in dealer inventories. Dealer inventory decreased more during the second quarter of 2024 than during the second quarter of 2023.

Resource Industries' segment profit was $718 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $22 million, or 3%, compared with $740 million in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was mainly due to the profit impact of lower sales volume of $169 million, unfavorable other segment items of $16 million and higher SG&A/R&D expenses of $14 million, partially offset by favorable price realization of $133 million and favorable manufacturing costs of $44 million. Unfavorable other segment items primarily consisted of unfavorable currency impacts. The increase in SG&A/R&D expenses was primarily driven by investments aligned with strategic initiatives. Favorable manufacturing costs largely reflected lower freight.

Energy & Transportation's total sales were $7.337 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $118 million, or 2%, compared with $7.219 billion in the second quarter of 2023. Sales increased across all applications except Industrial. The increase in sales was primarily due to favorable price realization of $264 million, partially offset by lower sales volume of $129 million.

• Oil and Gas – Sales increased for turbines and turbine-related services.
• Power Generation – Sales increased in large reciprocating engines, primarily data center applications. Turbines and turbine-related services increased as well.
• Industrial – Sales decreased in EAME and North America.
• Transportation – Sales increased in rail services and marine.

Energy & Transportation's segment profit was $1.525 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $256 million, or 20%, compared with $1.269 billion in the second quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly due to favorable price realization of $264 million.

Financial Products' segment revenues were $1.004 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $81 million, or 9%, compared with $923 million in the second quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily due to a favorable impact from higher average financing rates across all regions of $50 million and a favorable impact from higher average earning assets driven by North America of $32 million.

Financial Products' segment profit was $227 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $13 million, or 5%, compared with $240 million in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease was mainly due to higher provision for credit losses at Cat Financial of $27 million and an increase in SG&A expenses of $15 million, partially offset by the absence of prior year unfavorable currency impacts of $14 million and a favorable impact from higher average earning assets of $12 million.

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, past dues at Cat Financial were 1.74%, compared with 2.15% at the end of the second quarter of 2023. Write-offs, net of recoveries, were $18 million for the second quarter of 2024, compared with $8 million for the second quarter of 2023. As of June 30, 2024, Cat Financial's allowance for credit losses totaled $254 million, or 0.89% of finance receivables, compared with $281 million, or 1.01% of finance receivables at March 31, 2024. The allowance for credit losses at year-end 2023 was $331 million, or 1.18% of finance receivables.

Corporate Items and Eliminations

Expense for corporate items and eliminations was $587 million in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $332 million from the second quarter of 2023, primarily driven by higher restructuring costs and higher corporate costs.

In the second quarter of 2024, restructuring costs increased primarily due to the divestiture of two non-U.S. entities.

Notes

i.  Glossary of terms is included on the Caterpillar website at https://investors.caterpillar.com/overview/default.aspx.
ii.  Sales of equipment to end users is demonstrated by the company's Rolling 3 Month Retail Sales Statistics filed in a Form 8-K on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
iii.  Information on non-GAAP financial measures is included in the appendix on pages 13 and 14.
iv.  Some amounts within this report are rounded to the millions or billions and may not add.
v.  Caterpillar will conduct a teleconference and live webcast, with a slide presentation, beginning at 7:30 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, to discuss its 2024 second-quarter results. The accompanying slides will be available before the webcast on the Caterpillar website at https://investors.caterpillar.com/events-presentations/default.aspx.

About Caterpillar

With 2023 sales and revenues of $67.1 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, we've been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and providing financing and related services through our Financial Products segment. Visit us at caterpillar.com or join the conversation on our social media channels at caterpillar.com/en/news/social-media.html.

Caterpillar's latest financial results are also available online:

https://investors.caterpillar.com/overview/default.aspx

https://investors.caterpillar.com/financials/quarterly-results/default.aspx (live broadcast/replays of quarterly conference call)

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "forecast," "target," "guide," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance and speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.

Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those described or implied in our forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global and regional economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries we serve; (ii) commodity price changes, material price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products or significant shortages of material; (iii) government monetary or fiscal policies; (iv) political and economic risks, commercial instability and events beyond our control in the countries in which we operate; (v) international trade policies and their impact on demand for our products and our competitive position, including the imposition of new tariffs or changes in existing tariff rates; (vi) our ability to develop, produce and market quality products that meet our customers' needs; (vii) the impact of the highly competitive environment in which we operate on our sales and pricing; (viii) information technology security threats and computer crime; (ix) inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers and our OEM customers; (x) a failure to realize, or a delay in realizing, all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; (xi) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xii) adverse effects of unexpected events; (xiii) disruptions or volatility in global financial markets limiting our sources of liquidity or the liquidity of our customers, dealers and suppliers; (xiv) failure to maintain our credit ratings and potential resulting increases to our cost of borrowing and adverse effects on our cost of funds, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital markets; (xv) our Financial Products segment's risks associated with the financial services industry; (xvi) changes in interest rates or market liquidity conditions; (xvii) an increase in delinquencies, repossessions or net losses of Cat Financial's customers; (xviii) currency fluctuations; (xix) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial and other restrictive covenants in debt agreements; (xx) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxi) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xxii) additional tax expense or exposure, including the impact of U.S. tax reform; (xxiii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or government investigations; (xxiv) new regulations or changes in financial services regulations; (xxv) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (xxvi) catastrophic events, including global pandemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic; and (xxvii) other factors described in more detail in Caterpillar's Forms 10-Q, 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

APPENDIX

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The following definitions are provided for the non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures have no standardized meaning prescribed by U.S. GAAP and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to the calculation of similar measures for other companies. Management does not intend these items to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP measures.

The company believes it is important to separately quantify the profit impact of three significant items in order for the company's results to be meaningful to readers. These items consist of (i) restructuring costs related to the divestiture of two non-U.S. entities in 2024, (ii) other restructuring income/costs and (iii) certain deferred tax valuation allowance adjustments in 2023. The company does not consider these items indicative of earnings from ongoing business activities and believes the non-GAAP measure provides investors with useful perspective on underlying business results and trends and aids with assessing the company's period-over-period results. The company intends to discuss adjusted profit per share for the fourth quarter and full-year 2024, excluding mark-to-market gains or losses for remeasurement of pension and other postemployment benefit plans.

Reconciliations of adjusted results to the most directly comparable GAAP measure are as follows:

The company believes it is important to separately disclose the annual effective tax rate, excluding discrete items for the results to be meaningful to readers. The annual effective tax rate is discussed using non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the effects of amounts associated with discrete items recorded fully in the quarter they occur. For the three months ended June 30, 2024, and 2023, these items consist of (i) restructuring costs related to the divestiture of two non-U.S. entities in 2024, (ii) certain deferred tax valuation allowance adjustments in 2023 and (iii) settlement of stock-based compensation awards with associated tax deductions in excess of cumulative U.S. GAAP compensation expense. The company believes the non-GAAP measures will provide investors with useful perspective on underlying business results and trends and aids with assessing the company's period-over-period results.

A reconciliation of the effective tax rate to annual effective tax rate, excluding discrete items is below: 

Supplemental Consolidating Data

The company is providing supplemental consolidating data for the purpose of additional analysis. The data has been grouped as follows:

Consolidated – Caterpillar Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Machinery, Energy & Transportation (ME&T) – The company defines ME&T as it is presented in the supplemental data as Caterpillar Inc. and its subsidiaries, excluding Financial Products. ME&T's information relates to the design, manufacturing and marketing of its products.

Financial Products – The company defines Financial Products as it is presented in the supplemental data as its finance and insurance subsidiaries, primarily Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation (Cat Financial) and Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc. (Insurance Services). Financial Products' information relates to the financing to customers and dealers for the purchase and lease of Caterpillar and other equipment.

Consolidating Adjustments – Eliminations of transactions between ME&T and Financial Products.

The nature of the ME&T and Financial Products businesses is different, especially with regard to the financial position and cash flow items. Caterpillar management utilizes this presentation internally to highlight these differences. The company believes this presentation will assist readers in understanding its business.

Pages 16 to 26 reconcile ME&T and Financial Products to Caterpillar Inc. consolidated financial information.