Caterpillar's Stock Drops After Sales Miss, Lowered Outlook

Caterpillar Inc.'s stock slumped 2.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the machinery, engine and mining equipment maker missed second-quarter sales expectations and trimmed its full-year outlook. Earnings fell to $710 million, or $1.16 a share, from $999 million, or $1.57 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring restructuring costs, adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.27, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 13% to $12.3 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $12.74 billion, with sales of construction equipment falling 18%, energy and transportation declining 12% and resource industries down 11%. For the full year, Caterpillar cut its sales outlook to $49 billion from $50 billion, but affirmed its adjusted EPS outlook of $5. The company said it plans to buy back about $1.5 billion worth of its stock during the third quarter. The stock has lost 13% year to date through Wednesday, compared with a 0.2% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.