Summary
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) filed an 8-K on July 24, 2019, furnishing supplemental data on retail sales of machines and power systems for the three-month rolling periods ending in April, May, and June 2019. This information is provided to offer a better understanding of business trends and industry dynamics, acknowledging the lag between Caterpillar's sales to dealers and dealers' sales to end-users. The data, based on unaudited reports from independent dealers, is intended to indicate approximate trends rather than serve as a substitute for audited financial statements. Investors should note that the presented figures are in constant dollars and based on unit sales as reported by dealers, and Caterpillar does not undertake to update prior period information.
Key Highlights
- 1The report provides rolling 3-month retail sales statistics for machines and power systems, offering a more frequent pulse on business activity than quarterly earnings reports.
- 2Machine retail sales show mixed regional performance: North America and Latin America demonstrated consistent growth across the three months for Total Machines, while Asia/Pacific experienced declines.
- 3Resource Industries segment retail machine sales showed strong positive growth, particularly in Asia/Pacific and North America, indicating robust demand in mining and related sectors.
- 4Construction Industries segment machine retail sales were largely flat globally for June, with some positive movement in Latin America and North America, but a notable decline in Asia/Pacific.
- 5Energy & Transportation segment retail sales, a key indicator for industrial and infrastructure activity, showed positive growth in Power Generation and Industrial sectors, but a significant decline in Transportation and a moderate decline in Oil & Gas for June.
- 6The company explicitly states the data is unaudited, based on voluntary dealer reports, and may not be accurate or complete, serving as an indication of trends, not a prediction of financial results.
- 7Specific product lines, such as certain forestry machines for Construction Industries and longwall miners for Resource Industries, were excluded from the presented retail sales data.