Bellwether stock #2: Caterpillar (CAT)

More

bellwether stocks caterpillarConstruction manufacturer and Dow component Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) reported earnings of 72 cents per share, well ahead of expectations of a 22-cent per share profit.

Top-line revenue came in at $7.25 billion, which is a lot of money. Unfortunately, it was nearly a billion-and-a-half dollars below expectations of $8.86 billion.

How did Caterpillar manage to achieve its earnings beat on lower-than-anticipated revenue?

Cost cutting.

The company did raise its guidance for fiscal year 2009, but I don't see this coming from robust sales.

I rate Caterpillar a D, or sell.

At the time of publication, Louis Navellier held positions in Caterpillar.

Next: Stock #3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+150.2510,058.64
NASDAQ+24.822,150.87
S&P 500+13.781,070.52

Last updated: February 10, 2010: 07:57 AM

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

BioHealth Investor Headlines

WalletPop Headlines

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance

WalletPop Headlines