Caterpillar shares surged after the company reported its largest earnings beat in five years, fueled by demand from data center construction. The power generation and construction equipment company posted second-quarter results on Tuesday that significantly exceeded expectations, partly due to the booming data center buildout, sending its stock on track for its largest single-day gain ever. Second-quarter revenue jumped year-over-year, surpassing the $200 billion mark for the first time, with price increases contributing 15% of the growth.
The earnings beat, the largest in five years, drove the stock up $91.70, or 11.1%, in early trading, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s morning gainers. The previous record single-day dollar gain was $80.06 on April 30, 2026, when first-quarter results triggered a 9.9% rise. Caterpillar’s rally is expected to contribute approximately 545 points to the Dow, which was recently up 710 points, or 1.3%.
Total revenue rose $3.97 billion, or 24%, to $20.54 billion, surpassing the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of $19.68 billion. Volume growth contributed $3.11 billion, while price increases added $595 million. Net profit jumped 65% to $3.59 billion, with adjusted earnings per share rising to $8.17 from $4.72, beating the FactSet estimate of $6.22. The reported EPS exceeded expectations by 31.4%, marking the largest earnings surprise since the first quarter of 2021, when it topped by 47.8%.
Looking ahead, the company raised its full-year revenue growth guidance range from “low double-digit” percentage growth to “mid-to-high double-digit” percentage growth. The FactSet consensus for 2026 revenue of $77.01 billion implies 13.9% growth.
Among Caterpillar’s business segments, the Electric Power and Energy segment saw sales rise 17% to $8.24 billion, beating expectations of $7.77 billion, driven by growth in large engines, turbines, and turbine-related services, primarily for data centers. Construction industries revenue increased 35% to $8.35 billion, surpassing the $7.49 billion forecast, as data center investments fuel construction spending levels. Resource industries sales grew 20% to $4.65 billion, exceeding the $4.17 billion estimate.
Although Caterpillar shares have fallen 13.4% from their all-time closing high of $1,064.90 on June 30, they are still up 60.9% year-to-date in 2026, compared to the S&P 500’s 11.6% gain over the same period.