On August 6, 2024, Caterpillar reported its second quarter 2024 financial results. Operating income for the reporting period was $16.7 billion, down 4% from $17.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023.

Caterpillar 2024Q2 Quarterly Data (in billions of dollars)

Caterpillar 2024Q2 Earnings Data for Different Business Segments

Construction Machinery Segment Performance: operating income for the second quarter of 2024 was $6,683 million, a decrease of $471 million, or 7%, compared to the same period last year. Net income was $1.741 billion, a decrease of $62 million, or 3%, from $1.803 billion in the second quarter of 2023.

Caterpillar Construction Machinery Segment Performance by Region (in millions of dollars)

By region: sales in North America were roughly the same as in the second quarter of 2023. sales in EAME (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) declined by 27%, and Asia Pacific declined by 15%. The only region to show growth was Latin America, where sales were up 20%. In response, Caterpillar said that the revenue decline was primarily driven by changes in dealer inventories, while the Asia-Pacific revenue decline was primarily driven by unfavorable exchange rates for the Japanese yen.

Resource Segment Performance: operating income for the second quarter of 2024 was $3,206 million, a decrease of $357 million, or 10%, from $3,563 million in the second quarter of 2023.

Resources Business Segment 2024Q2 Sub-Regional Performance (in millions of dollars)

On a regional basis, revenue declined in all regions of the world for the Resources segment: North America was down 10%, Latin America was down 3%, EAME was down 15%, and Asia-Pacific sales were down 12%. Caterpillar again attributed the revenue decline to "the impact of dealer inventory changes."

"I want to thank our team for another quarter of sales that included higher adjusted operating margins, record adjusted earnings per share and solid ME&T free cash flow," said Jim Umpleby, chairman and executive officer, "Our results continue to reflect the diversity of our end markets and the benefits of our disciplined execution of our long-term profitable growth strategy."