Caterpillar Posts Worse-Than-Expected Q1 Sales, Issues Two Outlook Scenarios

Construction equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT) on Wednesday reported a bigger first-quarter sales decline than analysts had forecast.

The company posted revenue that declined 10% year-over-year to $14.25 billion. Analysts had expected $14.65 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.25 matched projections.

Revenue fell 19% in Caterpillar’s Construction Industries segment, while it declined 10% and 2% in its Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation units, respectively.

Caterpillar Presents Two Outlook Scenarios

Caterpillar presented two outlook scenarios for the full year, with and without the impact of tariffs.

Without tariffs, revenue is expected to be “about flat compared to 2024,” which would be better than previous forecasts of “down slightly.” Caterpillar said with tariffs, “before any additional mitigation actions, and with negative economic growth in the second half of 2025,” revenue is seen in line with the prior expectation of a slight decline.

For the current quarter, Caterpillar sees revenue similar to the second quarter of 2024, with an expected cost headwind of $250 million to $350 million due to tariffs.

Shares, which were little changed soon after Wednesday’s report, entered the day down roughly 15% since the start of the year, having been hard hit by the trade escalations that followed the Trump administration’s April 2 tariff announcement.

Earlier this month, the company announced a swap in its C-suite, with COO Joe Creed set to replace Jim Umpleby as CEO on Thursday. Umpleby, who has spent eight years as CEO, will become executive chairman of the board.