- Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) sinks 3.6% before the bell as its Q3 report misses on both lines.
- Revenue falls 18% Y/Y, while EPS tumbles 43%.
- Tuesday's September retail machinery sales numbers (-9% overall) suggested bad news might be around the corner.
- Outlook: EPS of $5.50 on revenue of $55B versus previous guidance of $6.50/share on $56-58B in sales and against consensus of $6.20/share and $56.46B in revenue. (PR)
- The commentary is decidedly downbeat. Here's Doug Oberhelman: "This year has proven to be difficult, with expected revenues [down] nearly ... 17% from 2012, with about 75% of the drop from Resource Industries, which is principally mining. Not only is mining down from 2012, the demand for equipment has been difficult to forecast. Orders for new mining equipment began to drop significantly in mid-2012 and have continued at very low levels."