Caterpillar Beats On EPS, But Slumps Slightly In Sales

Caterpillar Inc. CAT reported hits to revenue and profit per share in its fourth-quarter 2015 results.

Q4 revenue fell 23 percent to $11.03 billion, down from $14.24 billion in Q4 2014. Full-year revenue fell 14 percent to $47.01 billion, down from 2014's total of $55.18 billion.

Profit per share was cut nearly in half, falling 41 percent to $3.50 from $5.88 in 2014.

Caterpillar fell short of analyst estimates of $11.43 billion in Q4 revenue and $4.59 profit per share.

For Q4 2015, Caterpillar posted EPS of $0.74, beating estimates of $0.69.

Caterpillar returned $3.8 billion to stockholders, buying back $2 billion in stock and paying out $1.8 billion in dividends.

"Revenues remain under pressure from weak commodity prices and slowing economic growth in developing countries," said chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman. He said the company underwent "tough but necessary" restructuring in 2015, pointing to declining inventory, Caterpillar's expanding machinery market share and $6.5 billion in cash as signs that Caterpillar can do well "when markets rebound."

Caterpillar shares were initially trading down 1.3 percent in the pre-market session, but were last up 3.7 percent at $60.50.