Summary
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) filed an 8-K on May 18, 2017, to provide supplemental information on retail sales of machines and power systems. This data, based on voluntary reports from independent dealers, offers a real-time, albeit unaudited, glimpse into market trends. The company emphasizes that this information is for indicating approximate trends and is not a substitute for audited financial statements. The report details rolling 3-month retail sales figures for machines across different geographic regions and for its Resource Industries and Construction Industries segments. It also presents retail sales for the Energy & Transportation segment by major end-use. This supplemental disclosure aims to provide investors with a better understanding of Caterpillar's business and the industries it serves, especially given the lag between Caterpillar's sales to dealers and dealers' sales to end-users.
Key Highlights
- 1Caterpillar is providing supplemental, unaudited retail sales data for machines and power systems to give investors insight into current market trends.
- 2This data is based on voluntary reports from independent dealers and is not subject to internal controls over financial reporting.
- 3The report covers rolling 3-month retail sales for machines by geographic region (Asia/Pacific, EAME, Latin America, North America) and segment (Resource Industries, Construction Industries).
- 4For the Energy & Transportation segment, retail sales are broken down by major end-use (Power Gen, Industrial, Transportation, Oil & Gas).
- 5Retail sales for Total Machines globally showed a 1% increase for the 3-month period ended April 2017 compared to the prior year.
- 6Construction Industries showed mixed regional performance, with a strong 8% global increase driven by a significant 59% rise in Asia/Pacific, but declines in EAME and North America.
- 7Resource Industries experienced a notable 19% decline in global retail sales, with significant drops across all major regions.