Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported third-quarter 2014 results before markets opened Thursday. The heavy equipment firm posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.72 on revenues of $13.55 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported adjusted EPS of $1.45 on revenues of $13.42 billion. Third-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.36 and $13.19 billion in revenues. The company’s adjusted EPS excluded restructuring charges of $0.09 a share.

Caterpillar now says that 2014 sales will total about $55 billion, the middle of the company’s previously estimated range of $54 billion to $56 billion. It posted revenues of $55.66 billion in 2013. The company has essentially lowered its revenue guidance from around $56 billion, where it started the year.

The company now estimates total EPS for the year, excluding restructuring costs, will be $6.50, up from a previous estimate of $6.20. Those costs are now estimated at about $400 million, or about $0.50 per share.

Caterpillar also offered a preliminary estimate on sales and revenue for the 2015 fiscal year. The company did not provide firm numbers, but did say:

At this point, our view of 2015 sales and revenues isn’t significantly different than 2014. Our order backlog was up a little in the third quarter and was slightly higher than at this point last year. We’re hopeful that economic growth will improve in 2015, but are mindful of the uncertainties and risks.

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The company’s CEO said:

We are confident that, when we see more significant economic growth around the world, our consistent focus on operational performance will have prepared us to deliver even better results. … In January we provided our first profit outlook for 2014 at $5.85 per share excluding restructuring costs — our current outlook excluding restructuring costs is $6.50 per share, a substantial improvement. The fact that we continue to raise our profit per share outlook on relatively flat sales is a testament to our diverse portfolio of businesses, disciplined cost control and operational execution.

At the end of the third quarter of 2013, Caterpillar reported 121,506 full-time employees and 15,598 employees designated as the flexible workforce. At the end of the third quarter of 2014, the number of full-time workers had fallen to 114,352 and the flexible workforce number grew to 16,615. Caterpillar has chopped 1,453 jobs in the United States and 4,684 at its international locations.

Caterpillar repurchased $2.5 billion in stock during the third quarter. Year to date, the company said it has returned a total of $5.4 billion to stockholders through a combination of buybacks and dividends.

Caterpillar’s shares were up about 4.5% in premarket trading, at $98.80 in a 52-week range of $81.87 to $111.46. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $107.20 before the report.

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