The shares in heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) are up more than any other component of the Dow (DJIA) this year, by 36.86% to $93.01. Despite unimpressive quarterly results, the new optimism about Donald Trump’s plans for infrastructure have driven the stock higher.
According to Investor’s Business Daily:
Caterpillar (CAT) and other large industrial companies’ shares jumped Wednesday on Trump’s victory as infrastructure, oil and gas and coal mining projects could jump start under the new president.
Caterpillar shares soared 7.7% to 91.20 in the stock market today (11/9), jumping out of buy range and hitting its best levels since the end of 2014.
Trump has said he would remove “job-destroying” regulations on coal and other energy sources in his first 100 days in office and would “cancel” the Paris climate pact.
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This more than offset earnings which made investors anxious about Caterpillar’s prospects for the balance of the year:
Caterpillar reported quarterly earnings on Tuesday (10/25) that beat analysts expectations, but revenue fell short of estimates and the company lowered its full-year guidance.
The construction and mining equipment maker posted third-quarter earnings of 85 cents a share on revenue of $9.16 billion. The company had profit of $1.05 per share a year earlier.
Analysts expected Caterpillar to report earnings of 76 cents a share on revenue of $9.86 billion, according to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.
Shares of the company dropped more than 2 percent in premarket trading immediately after the announcement.
For the time being, politics have trumped numbers.
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