Caterpillar reported a 17% increase in third-quarter sales and revenues to $20.7 billion on Oct. 29, 2026, as higher equipment volume and pricing supported stronger profitability across its industrial business.
The company’s results release attributed the increase primarily to $2.2 billion of additional sales volume and $663 million of favorable price realization.
Margins improve alongside sales
Operating margin increased to 20.4% from 17.3% a year earlier. Adjusted operating margin was 20.6%, compared with 17.5%. Caterpillar said its adjusted measures exclude restructuring costs.
Reported profit per share rose to $7.13 from $4.88. Adjusted profit per share was $7.20, compared with $4.95. The adjusted figures supplement, rather than replace, the reported results.
The distinction matters when comparing performance across periods: revenue measures the value of sales, while operating margin indicates how much operating profit the company generated relative to that revenue.
Reuters reported continued demand strength in backup power equipment, turbines and construction machinery.
Orders are not delivery commitments
Chairman and CEO Joe Creed described order rates as strong and the backlog as a record, according to the company. Caterpillar also reported enterprise operating cash flow of $4.4 billion and enterprise cash of $7.9 billion at quarter-end.
For infrastructure and industrial buyers, those figures provide a current financial picture of a major equipment supplier. They do not establish delivery dates for a particular generator, turbine or machine. A backlog describes work still to be fulfilled, not equipment immediately available to an individual customer.