Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, what do you think about the prospects of Caterpillar going forward? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Caterpillar Inc., $167.04, symbol CAT on New York (Shares outstanding: 541.5 million; Market cap: $88.4 billion; www.caterpillar.com), is the world’s largest maker of earth-moving equipment, including tractors, scrapers, graders, compactors, loaders and pipe layers. It also makes lift trucks and diesel and turbine engines. The company gets roughly 52% of its sales from outside the U.S. Its clients are mainly in the mining, logging, farming, construction and oil and gas industries. Caterpillar sells its machines through a worldwide dealer network. The company also provides dealers and customers with equipment financing and insurance. Caterpillar has made a series of acquisitions over the past few years to accelerate its growth. In July 2011, the company acquired Milwaukee-based Bucyrus International, which makes equipment used for mining and in the oil sands. This purchase made Caterpillar the world’s largest mining machinery supplier. The company paid $9.0 billion for Bucyrus. In November 2011, Caterpillar completed its $774-million purchase of MWM GmbH. The German firm makes engines that run…