Caterpillar stock has been buoyed by an improving outlook for nonresidential construction in the U.S.
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Investors will find out Tuesday if all the new legislation and investment spending in the U.S. is boosting demand for construction equipment.
Caterpillar
(ticker: CAT) reports fourth quarter numbers Tuesday morning. Wall Street is looking for earnings per share of $4.02 from sales of $15.8 billion. A year ago, Cat reported $2.69 a share from $13.8 billion in sales.
Caterpillar
stock closed down 2.8% in Monday trading ahead of earnings. The
S&P 500
and
Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively.
It was a weak day, but there is still a lot of investor optimism built into shares. Cat stock is up about 19% over the past three months and 30% over the past year. Investors are optimistic that spending linked to the Chips Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and President Biden’s infrastructure plan will boost construction sales in the U.S.
Melius analyst Scott Davis has tracked more than $250 billion in investment spending announced over the past couple of years that is slated for the America. With total U.S. nonresidential construction spending running roughly at $1 trillion a year, the incremental boost from those laws can be meaningful.
Cat hosts a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss results. Investors will want to hear about the construction outlook along with the outlook for mining and energy industries.
Options markets imply Cat stock will move about 5%, up or down, following earnings. Shares rose 7.7% after the company reported third quarter numbers.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
Credit: marketwatch.com