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Caterpillar Stock Soars Over 6% After Record $20.5 Billion Quarter Fueled by AI Data Center Demand Today

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Caterpillar Stock Drops Nearly 5% Friday as Investors Take Profits

Caterpillar shares jumped more than 6% Tuesday morning, trading at $882.97 as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time, after the construction and mining equipment maker reported record second-quarter results and raised its full-year sales outlook, driven largely by surging demand tied to the ongoing buildout of AI data centers.

The gains, which reached as high as 11% in premarket trading before settling into Tuesday’s session, added roughly 450 points to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and reinforced the equipment giant’s growing role as a beneficiary of the broader artificial-intelligence infrastructure boom sweeping through corporate America.

A historic quarter

Caterpillar reported second-quarter sales and revenue of $20.5 billion, up 24% from $16.6 billion a year earlier, marking the first time in the company’s history that quarterly sales have topped $20 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $8.17, up sharply from $4.72 in the same period last year and well above the $6.20 per share analysts had expected, according to data compiled by LSEG. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share rose to $7.77 from $4.62, while net profit climbed to $3.593 billion from $2.179 billion. Operating profit increased 50% to $4.295 billion.

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Chairman and CEO Joe Creed highlighted the milestone in a statement accompanying the results, noting it marked “the first time in company history that we have generated over $20 billion” in sales and revenue for a single quarter. Creed pointed to broadening momentum across all three of the company’s primary business segments, underscored by a record order backlog of $72.1 billion heading into the second half of the year.

Data centers driving the surge

The results were powered heavily by two segments tied closely to the broader AI infrastructure buildout. Caterpillar’s Construction Industries segment posted sales growth of 35% to $8.3 billion, with North American construction demand surging 50% as data center construction projects continued to ramp up across the country. The company’s Power & Energy segment grew revenue by 17% to $8.2 billion, with power generation sales, predominantly tied to backup power equipment for data centers, climbing 29%. Combined, the two segments accounted for 81% of Caterpillar’s total revenue during the quarter.

Resource Industries revenue rose 20% to $4.6 billion, driven by higher equipment sales to end users and increased international locomotive deliveries, while Financial Products revenue grew 10% to $1.145 billion, with segment profit up 32% to $328 million.

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A sharp turnaround from earlier tariff pressure

Tuesday’s results marked a notable reversal from the pressures Caterpillar flagged just one quarter earlier. In the first quarter, the company reported unfavorable manufacturing costs of $710 million tied to higher tariff expenses, which weighed on margins across all three of its business segments. Caterpillar has since lowered its full-year tariff cost forecast to approximately $2.2 billion, down from an earlier estimate of $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion, and recorded $392 million in expected tariff recoveries under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act during the second quarter alone.

On the back of the strong results, Caterpillar raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to the mid-to-high-teens percentage range, up from its previous projection of low-double-digit growth, a signal to investors that the company expects the current pace of demand to continue through the rest of the year.

Easing concerns about AI-related spending

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The results carried significance beyond Caterpillar’s own balance sheet. The company’s results are often viewed as a bellwether for the broader industrial economy, and Tuesday’s beat and raised outlook helped ease recent concerns among investors and analysts, including prominent short-seller Michael Burry, about the sustainability of AI-related capital spending following a stretch of declines in power-equipment stocks tied to that theme. Caterpillar’s ability to convert its record backlog into delivered revenue on schedule this quarter offered reassurance that demand tied to the data center buildout remains durable rather than speculative.

Strong cash generation and capital returns

Caterpillar also reported robust cash flow figures alongside its earnings. Enterprise operating cash flow totaled $4.4 billion for the quarter, while Machinery, Power & Energy operating cash flow reached $5.7 billion and free cash flow came in at $5.1 billion. The company ended the quarter with $6.7 billion in enterprise cash and returned $2.2 billion to shareholders during the period, including $1.5 billion through share repurchases and $700 million in dividends.

A soft spot in the Middle East

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Despite the overall strength, Creed acknowledged during the company’s earnings call that Caterpillar saw softer sales to end users in the Middle East within its Construction Industries segment, one of the few regional pockets of weakness noted in an otherwise strong quarter.

Investing in AI and electrification

Beyond its equipment sales, Caterpillar has also been expanding its own footprint in AI-adjacent technology and electrification. The company recently acquired Skycatch, a spatial data and AI analytics firm focused on mine sites, and has been trialing battery-electric haul trucks in partnership with mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto in Australia’s Pilbara region. Those investments align with a broader strategic push the company has signaled toward autonomous and AI-assisted equipment, an initiative it showcased earlier this year at CES with an in-cab AI assistant integrated into one of its mini-excavator models.

Heading into Tuesday’s report, Caterpillar shares had already climbed roughly 36% in 2026, reflecting growing investor enthusiasm for companies positioned to benefit from the broader AI infrastructure buildout. With the company’s record backlog, raised guidance and reduced tariff cost outlook now confirmed, analysts will be watching closely in the coming quarters for further evidence that the current surge in data center-related demand for construction and power generation equipment can be sustained through the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

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Apple UK encryption challenge filed against Home Office

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Apple UK encryption challenge filed against Home Office

Apple has confirmed it has lodged a new legal complaint against the UK government at the court that hears objections to the use of covert surveillance powers.

The company has not told said what the complaint relates to. The Financial Times has reported it is a further challenge to a Home Office demand for so-called “backdoor” access to highly encrypted Apple user data.

The dispute centres on the government’s wish to see material protected by Advanced Data Protection, a system Apple says it cannot itself access. It has been running since early 2025.

The government said it would not comment on legal proceedings or on what it called “operational matters”.

It added in a statement: “The UK supports strong encryption and robust privacy protections, but it is also vital that law enforcement can access communications when necessary and proportionate to protect the public from terrorism, serious crime, and child sexual abuse.”

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Apple referred reporters to a statement it gave last year, after its initial challenge to the government’s request. That statement said the company was “gravely disappointed” it could still not offer Advanced Data Protection to new UK users, following its decision to withdraw the feature from UK iCloud accounts in February 2025.

“As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will,” the company added.

Since February 2025, UK iPhone users have seen a notice on the Advanced Data Protection settings page stating that the tool cannot be enabled.

Apple has confirmed it has lodged a new legal complaint against the UK government at the court that hears objections to the use of covert surveillance powers.

Advanced Data Protection is an opt-in feature that applies a higher level of protection to data stored in iCloud, including back-ups, Drive storage, photos and voice memos. It is secured using end-to-end encryption, meaning Apple is unable to see its contents.

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The government’s requests for access to data held under the system were issued under the Investigatory Powers Act. The Act allows the government to issue secret notices, known as technical capability notices, which can require companies to provide UK security services with ways to access customer data.

Under the notices regime code of practice, such notices must be approved by both the Secretary of State and a Judicial Commissioner before they are given to an operator.

The government fought unsuccessfully to keep legal challenges to its first notice to Apple secret. That notice was later withdrawn after objections from US politicians, who were concerned about the effect on their own citizens’ data. The government issued a new request in October which did not apply to US users.

Privacy groups that had campaigned against the secret orders welcomed Apple’s new complaint.

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“We are happy to learn that Apple is once again challenging the UK’s regime of secret orders,” said Privacy International. “While we don’t know the substance of Apple’s claim, if it relates to the previously reported orders aimed at undermining the security of Apple’s iCloud storage, then Apple’s claim, alongside side ours and Liberty’s, is crucially important to preserving all of our privacy and security.”

Ruth Ehrlich, director of external relations at Liberty, said the case was “hugely important” and had “far-reaching implications for the public’s privacy rights well into the future”.

“End-to-end encryption is an essential security tool that protects our personal data, including our bank details, health information, private conversations and images,” she said. “Opening a backdoor to all of that information carries a wide range of risks to our personal data. It is critical that the Government listens to the many concerns and commits to protecting our privacy rights.”

Sir Brian Leveson, the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, who provides independent oversight of the use of surveillance powers, has previously criticised media use of the term “backdoor”.

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He said notices of the kind at issue in this case would only be issued “if the Secretary of State deems it necessary and proportionate, and this decision is independently reviewed and approved by a Judicial Commissioner”. He added that requests for data would require separate authorisation under the Act, subject to independent oversight.

Apple has previously set out its position on encrypted services in the UK, including its opposition to proposals for scanning of encrypted messages.


Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

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Nabard cancels Rs 8,000 cr bond issue on high-yield bids

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Nabard cancels Rs 8,000 cr bond issue on high-yield bids
Mumbai: State-owned Nabard rejected offers received for its ₹8,000-crore bond issue Tuesday after investors demanded yields in excess of 7.60% for a tenure of five years. Nabard’s bond was one of the largest proposed issuances in more than a month.

The lender planned to borrow around 7.40% – 7.45%, market participants said. The withdrawal highlights palpable caution in the primary bond market, where activity picked up briefly in June but has remained muted through July and early August.

Investors demanded higher returns, anticipating that yields will rise due to geo-political uncertainties. Furthermore, markets are also watchful of the expected hawkish tone in the monetary policy scheduled on Wednesday, although the central bank is widely expected to hold rates, according to an ET poll.

Nabard cancels Rs 8,000 cr bond issue on high-yield bids
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Nabard rejected its ₹8,000-crore bond offering as investors sought higher yields. This withdrawal highlights investor caution in the primary bond market. Geopolitical uncertainties and monetary policy outlook are influencing investor demands. Corporate bond issuances have significantly decreased compared to the previous year. Institutions are selectively deploying funds while awaiting market clarity.


In the first four months of this fiscal year, corporates have issued bonds of ₹97,053 crore, almost half the issuances during the same period last year, BSE data showed. In the first four months of FY26, corporate bonds issuances amounted to ₹1.82 lakh crore. “The system has ample liquidity and credit growth remains healthy. What has changed is investor appetite,” said Venkatakrishnan Srinivasan, managing partner at Rockfort Fincap, a debt advisory firm. “Fund deployment has become selective as institutions prefer to wait for greater clarity on the evolving geopolitical situation and RBI’s policy outlook.”
Elevated government bond yields, which serve as the benchmark for pricing corporate bonds, have pushed up borrowing costs, discouraging companies from tapping the bond market.


The 10-year benchmark government bond yield, considered the floor for corporates borrowing in the bond market, closed at 6.81% on Tuesday. It was at 6.60% at the start of the year. The one-year marginal cost of lending rate, or MCLR, at State Bank of India stands at 8.70%.
“Yes, there is a slowdown in corporate bonds, and this is going to continue over the year. Yields have moved higher as markets increasingly price in risks arising from the ongoing geopolitical tensions,” said Soumyajit Niyogi, director, India Ratings Research. “In this environment, fixed-rate corporate bond borrowing costs have moved higher and turned comparable to bank funding rates.”

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LARRY KUDLOW: Now’s the time for the GOP to message affordability

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LARRY KUDLOW: Unconditional deadlines should be the next Iranian step

Ace pollster John McLaughlin, using an accurate survey of 1,000 likely voters, shows when Republican candidates clearly support free-market capitalism versus Democratic policies of big government socialism, the GOP moves from a virtual tie in the generic Congressional ballot, to a commanding 49 percent to 36 percent lead. Independent and moderate voters show exactly the same move toward the GOP when the subject is capitalism versus socialism.

There’s a lesson here. And it’s a pity that the Republicans are not likely to produce a pro-growth, pro-affordability, tax and spending cut budget package. A missed opportunity. However, the second choice if you can’t get legislation, is good messaging this summer. And there is this midterm convention at Dallas in early September. And the economy right now, speaking of affordability, is booming. Every day we get more evidence. Manufacturing is on a roll.

The AI boom is transforming the American economy. Construction is rising in a way we haven’t seen in many years. Consumers are spending. Businesses are investing. Here’s one today: non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, Wall Street calls it cap ex, in the last three months, orders are up 10.5 percent. Shipments are up 11.5 percent. Backlogs are up by more than 9 percent. All at an annual rate. We haven’t seen anything like this in decades.

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The stock market is setting new records on a daily basis, including the S&P. Today the Dow closed at 54,085. Nearly 150 million Americans are invested. And the Trump accounts are coming in at record pace. Everybody is gonna own a piece of the Roth.

Last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill had the tax cuts and the spending cuts and it’s working today. So I’m just saying it’s time for the GOP to please talk about this. Better to talk about it with a roaring stock market. Growth and affordability. Let’s get it right.

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Mattel Q2 2026 slides: revenue beats as margin pressure weighs

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Mattel Q2 2026 slides: revenue beats as margin pressure weighs

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NGL Energy Partners LP Common Units (NGL) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the NGL Energy Partners 1Q ’27 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded.

I will now turn the conference over to your host, Brad Cooper, CFO. You may begin.

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Brad Cooper
Executive VP, Compliance Officer & CFO of NGL Energy Holdings LLC

Good afternoon, and thank you to everyone for joining us on the call today. Our comments today will include plans, forecasts and estimates that are forward-looking statements under the U.S. securities law. These comments are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Please take note of the cautionary language and risk factors provided in our presentation materials and our other public disclosure materials.

We are pleased to report a strong start to fiscal 2027 and continued execution on our multiyear strategy of deleveraging the balance sheet through high-return water growth projects. This positions the partnership to continue to address the Class D preferreds later this fiscal year.

During the first quarter, we hit record produced water volumes, physically disposing of approximately 3.32 million barrels per day during the first quarter, growing 19.6% from the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The record water volumes also generated record Water Solutions adjusted EBITDA for a single quarter.

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We are seeing the growth capital spend and

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Alamo Group Inc. (ALG) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript