Earnings Preview: Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar (CAT) is expected to report Q1 earnings before market open Friday April 18, with a conference call scheduled for 11:00 am ET the same day.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for an EPS of $1.33 on revenue of $10.75B. The consensus range is $1.18 to $1.49 for EPS, and revenue of $10.27B to $11.26B, according to First Call. Caterpillar gave guidance on January 25, expecting FY08 EPS up 5% to 15%, and revenue up 5% to 10%. That outlook was reiterated by Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens on March 11. Owens stated the company expects strong sales and revenue growth through 2012, and also expects sales and revenues approaching $60B by 2010. Owens said on March 31, while speaking in Beijing, that Caterpillar sees 10% sales growth in U.S. this year and 15% sales growth in Latin America this year.

Analyst Views

Bernstein predicted that the company will report Q1 EPS and revenue of $1.26 and $10.5B, compared with the consensus of $1.28 and $10.8B. The firm's estimate is partly based on their view that the U.S. is in or will soon enter a recession, but they maintained their Outperform rating, as they think that international economies are still strong.

On April 7, Goldman said that Caterpillar could face headwinds from their captive finance units due to rising credit losses and lack of funding access.

Investors will be listening to the company's earnings conference call for commentary on the state of the current economy.