Caterpillar (CAT Quick QuoteCAT - Free Report) reported $17.42 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 22.2%. EPS of $5.54 for the same period compares to $4.25 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.44 billion, representing a surprise of +5.95%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +21.76%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $4.55.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Caterpillar performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Price Realization - Machinery, Power & Energy - Power & Energy: $108 million versus $197.64 million estimated by three analysts on average.
• Price Realization - Machinery, Power & Energy - Resource Industries: $-39 million versus $-13.47 million estimated by three analysts on average.
• Sales Volume - Machinery, Power & Energy - Power & Energy: $840 million compared to the $882.85 million average estimate based on three analysts.
• Sales Volume - Machinery, Power & Energy - Construction Industries: $1.46 billion versus the three-analyst average estimate of $638.1 million.
• Sales and Revenues- Asia/Pacific- Machinery, Power & Energy- All Other Segments: $2 million compared to the $12.46 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of -83.3% year over year.
• Sales and Revenues- EAME- Machinery, Power & Energy- Power & Energy: $1.14 billion versus $1.26 billion estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +1% change.
• Sales and Revenues- Asia/Pacific- Machinery, Power & Energy- Power & Energy: $794 million versus $832.85 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +5% change.
• Sales and Revenues- Asia/Pacific- Machinery, Power & Energy- Resource Industries: $742 million compared to the $829.38 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of -3.6% year over year.
• Total sales and revenues- Machinery, Power & Energy- All Other Segments: $77 million compared to the $102.89 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of -15.4% year over year.
• Total sales and revenues- Machinery, Power & Energy- Resource Industries: $3.8 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $3.69 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +31.7%.
• Total sales and revenues- Machinery, Power & Energy- Construction Industries: $7.16 billion compared to the $6.06 billion average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +38.1% year over year.
• Total sales and revenues- Machinery, Power & Energy- Power & Energy: $7.03 billion versus $7.03 billion estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +7.1% change.

View all Key Company Metrics for Caterpillar here>>>

Shares of Caterpillar have returned +10.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +12.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.