The CAT logo is displayed on Caterpillar construction equipment at Peterson Tractor in San Leandro, California. — AFP
New York: Caterpillar warned that Wall Street’s 2017 earnings targets for the industrial equipment company are too lofty despite some hopeful signs for its business, including higher commodity prices. Analysts project the firm will earn $3.25 a share in 2017, but that estimate is “too optimistic considering expected headwinds,” a Caterpillar executive said in a presentation conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
There are a number of encouraging signs, including higher commodity prices, an Opec deal to cut oil production and boost prices, and expectations that US President-elect Donald Trump will enact a major public works initiative, Caterpillar Resources Industries President Denise Johnson said.
But she also pointed to economic vulnerabilities, including volatile oil prices, a weak North American construction market and an uncertain outlook in Europe after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
Customers in the mining industry have yet to open the spigots on capital spending following a two-year downturn that badly hit the company’s results, Johnson told the conference. — AFP
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