Overview
Caterpillar Inc. is a global industrial company founded in 1925 that manufactures construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. The company operates through a global network of independent dealers and direct sales channels, and it also provides financing and related services through its Financial Products business. Its core operating areas are Construction Industries, Resource Industries, and Energy & Transportation, which position it across infrastructure, mining, energy, transportation, and other heavy industrial markets.[1][2]
Caterpillar states that its purpose is to help customers build a better, more sustainable world, and its strategy emphasizes operational excellence, expanded offerings, services, and sustainability. The company has a broad international footprint, serving customers around the world and maintaining additional offices and subsidiaries in Latin America, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Africa. In 2024, Caterpillar reported sales and revenues of $64.809 billion and employed about 112,900 full-time people, underscoring its scale as a large global manufacturer and industrial services provider.[3][4][5][6] [1][2][3][4][5][6]
Products & services
Caterpillar’s construction product lineup includes asphalt pavers, backhoe loaders, cold planers, compactors, compact track loaders, forestry machines, material handlers, motor graders, pipelayers, road reclaimers, skid steer loaders, telehandlers, track-type loaders, track-type tractors, track excavators, wheel excavators and wheel loaders, along with related parts and work tools. These products are aimed at infrastructure and building construction applications, with much of the segment’s demand tied to heavy and general construction, rental, quarry and aggregates, and mining customers.[7][8]
In mining and heavy construction, Caterpillar offers electric rope shovels, draglines, hydraulic shovels, rotary drills, hard rock vehicles, large track-type tractors, large mining trucks, large wheel loaders, off-highway trucks, wide-body trucks, articulated trucks, wheel tractor scrapers, wheel dozers, landfill compactors, soil compactors and machinery components, plus select work tools. The segment also provides hydraulic systems, electronics and software for Caterpillar machines and engines, as well as fleet management systems, equipment analytics, safety services, mining performance solutions and autonomous-ready vehicles and autonomous machine capabilities.[9][10]
Caterpillar’s energy and transportation portfolio includes reciprocating engines, drivetrain and integrated systems and solutions for industrial applications and Caterpillar machinery; integrated systems and solutions for electric power generation; turbines, centrifugal gas compressors and related services; reciprocating engines and integrated systems for marine and oil and gas; and diesel-electric locomotives, components and other rail-related products and services. The segment also includes generator sets, remanufacturing of Caterpillar engines and components, remanufacturing services for other companies, product support for on-highway engines, and development of electrified powertrains and zero-emission power sources and service solutions.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Beyond equipment, Cat Financial provides retail and wholesale financing for Caterpillar products and services and for power generation facilities that often incorporate Caterpillar equipment. Its offerings include installment sale contracts, equipment loans, working capital loans, finance leases, operating leases, revolving charge accounts, dealer inventory financing, rental fleet financing and purchases of short-term wholesale trade receivables.[17] In 2024, Construction Industries generated $25.455 billion of sales, Resource Industries $12.389 billion and Energy & Transportation $28.854 billion; Machinery, Energy & Transportation sales and revenues were $61.363 billion out of $64.809 billion of consolidated sales and revenues, while Financial Products segment revenues were $3.446 billion.[18][19][20][21] [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Geographic presence
Caterpillar is headquartered in Irving, Texas, and conducts manufacturing through a broad international footprint. Its principal manufacturing facilities are located across the United States and in at least 16 countries outside the U.S., including Brazil, China, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Australia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The U.S. manufacturing base is spread across multiple states, with especially large concentrations in Illinois and Texas, while major non-U.S. production clusters appear in China, India, Mexico and the U.K.[22][23][24][25]
In 2024, Caterpillar generated $64.8 billion of sales and revenues, with about 53% from North America ($34.4 billion), 19% from EAME ($12.3 billion), 18% from Asia/Pacific ($11.4 billion) and 10% from Latin America ($6.7 billion). On a U.S. versus non-U.S. basis, about 47% of sales and revenues were inside the United States ($30.6 billion) and 53% were outside the United States ($34.2 billion). The company notes that Machinery, Energy & Transportation sales are assigned by dealer or customer location, while service revenues are assigned by where the service is rendered.[26][27][28]
Caterpillar employed about 112,900 full-time people at year-end 2024, including about 51,500 in the United States and 61,400 outside the United States. By region, employment was approximately 52,000 in North America, 25,300 in Asia/Pacific, 19,700 in Latin America and 15,900 in EAME. Its commercial reach is supported by a global network of independent dealers, alongside direct sales for certain products, giving it a broad customer presence around the world.[6][29][2] [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][6][29][2]
Business segments
Caterpillar says it has five operating segments, of which four are reportable: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation, and Financial Products Segment; an All Other operating segment is presented as a reconciling item to consolidated reporting.[30][31] Construction Industries focuses on machinery used in infrastructure and building construction, with major exposure to heavy and general construction, rental, quarry and aggregates, and mining; its portfolio includes equipment such as backhoe loaders, compactors, motor graders, track excavators, wheel loaders, and related parts and work tools.[32][33] Resource Industries focuses on mining, heavy construction, and quarry and aggregates, including large mining trucks, shovels, drills, wheel dozers, and related components, and it also sells technology and services such as fleet management, equipment analytics, and autonomous machine capabilities.[34][35] Energy & Transportation serves oil and gas, power generation, marine, rail, and industrial applications with reciprocating engines, turbines, diesel-electric locomotives, generator sets, integrated systems, and electrified and zero-emission power solutions.[36][37][38] Financial Products provides financing, leasing, insurance, and risk-management products that support customer and dealer purchases and leases of Caterpillar equipment and certain power-generation facilities.[39][40]
Using Caterpillar’s 2023 consolidated sales and revenues of $67.1 billion as a rough denominator, Energy & Transportation accounted for about 41.8% of segment sales and revenues, Construction Industries about 40.9%, Resource Industries about 20.3%, Financial Products about 5.6%, and All Other less than 1%.[41][42] These percentages are directional rather than additive, because the segment table also includes Corporate Items and Eliminations of $(5.4) billion, so the segment totals do not sum to consolidated revenue on a one-for-one basis.[41][43] [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]
Company history
Caterpillar traces its roots to the work of Benjamin Holt and C. L. Best. Holt built early steam traction engines in the 1890s and, in 1904, put tracks on a tractor to create what the company describes as the first true “Caterpillar,” while Best established the C. L. Best Gas Traction Co. in 1910 and developed competing track-type tractors. Their businesses were merged on April 15, 1925 to form Caterpillar Tractor Co.[44][45][46]
In 1931, Caterpillar began production of the Diesel Sixty, which it describes as the world’s first diesel-powered tractor, an early milestone in the company’s product development. Originally organized as Caterpillar Tractor Co. in 1925, the company reorganized as Caterpillar Inc. in Delaware in 1986. It later expanded through acquisitions including Solar Turbines in 1981 and Bucyrus International in 2011, broadening its reach beyond its original tractor business into turbine and mining equipment markets.[47][48][49][50] [48][44][45][46][47][49][50]
Sources
Continue your research
From company context to financial detail.
Explore original sources and worldwide fundamental financial data and intelligence with Finbar.
Explore CATERPILLAR INC in Finbar ↗