Caterpillar post strong Q2 profit as it raises prices

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DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar had a strong second quarter and topped most profit expectations with higher prices for machinery offsetting rising costs.

The manufacturer on Tuesday posted a quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $3.13. Per share earnings were $3.18 without one-time costs or benefits, which is 18 cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey of industry analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

The Deerfield, Illinois, company had revenue of $14.25 billion, about in line with the $14.3 billion analysts had projected.

Operating profit margin for the quarter was 13.6%, down slightly from last year's 13.9%, and that took some steam out of shares before the opening bell.

“Volumes were well short of our expectations, as (Caterpillar) and its supply base continues to deal with inefficiencies,” wrote Citi analyst Timothy Thein.

Shares of Caterpillar Inc., down nearly 6% this year, slipped about 3% before the opening bell Tuesday.

A portion of this story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CAT

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