Caterpillar's stock gives the Dow a 200-point boost as data-center demand drives record revenue

By Tomi Kilgore

Stock pares gains, but extends win streak to four sessions as profit beats expectations by widest margin in five years

Caterpillar's stock surges after the biggest earnings beat in five years, as demand for data-center construction provided a boost.

Shares of Caterpillar surged Tuesday, after the power-generation and construction-equipment company reported blowout second-quarter earnings, thanks in part to the booming data-center build-out.

Revenue for the second quarter jumped from a year ago to top $20 billion for the first time ever, with price increases contributing 15% of the growth. Profit beat expectations by the widest margin in five years.

The stock (CAT) rallied $39.52, or 4.8%% in recent morning trading, to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average's DJIA early gainers, but pared earlier gains of as much as $104.97, or 12.6%.

The stock's price gain added 235 points to the price of the Dow, which was 542 points, or 1%.

Total revenue rose by $3.97 billion, 24%, to $20.54 billion, beating the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $19.68 billion. Sales volumes accounted for $3.11 billion of the growth, and price increases accounted for $595 million.

Net income climbed 65% to $3.59 billion, and adjusted earnings per share rose to $8.17 from $4.72 to top the FactSet EPS consensus of $6.22. Reported EPS was 31.4% above expectations, which was the widest margin for a bottom-line beat since the 47.8% beat in the first quarter of 2021.

Looking ahead, the company raised its full-year revenue growth guidance range to "mid-to-high teens" percentage growth from "low double-digit" growth. The current FactSet consensus for 2026 revenue of $77.01 billion implies a 13.9% increase.

Among Caterpillar's business segments, power and energy sales grew 17% to $8.24 billion, above expectations of $7.77 billion, boosted by growth in sales of large engines, turbines and turbine-related services, primarily for use in data centers.

Construction-industries revenue hiked 35% to $8.35 billion, beating expectations of $7.49 billion, as investments in data centers are contributing to construction spending levels.

And resource industries sales increased 20% to $4.65 billion, above expectations of $4.17 billion.

Although Caterpillar's stock has fallen 18.3% from its June 30 record close of $1,064.90, it has still soared 51.8% in 2026, while the S&P 500 index SPX had gained 12.1%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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08-04-26 1036ET