This Cat must have more than nine lives.
On April 15, 1925, when Calvin Coolidge was in the White House, Benjamin Holt and C.L. Best merged their two heavy-construction-equipment firms to create Caterpillar Tractor Co.
💸💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter 💰💸
Over the next 100 years Caterpillar (CAT) would become the world’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment.
The company provided vital equipment to the U.S. armed forces during World War II.
Caterpillar tractors were used extensively by the Seabees, the U.S. Navy’s construction battalions, to build airfields, barracks, port facilities and other crucial infrastructure in the Pacific theater and other locations.
The company grew rapidly during the postwar construction boom, as Caterpillar capitalized on the massive demand for highways, dams and other construction projects.
Today, Caterpillar has found a place in the tech world as its generators are a hot commodity among developers of computer data centers. Demand for data centers is increasing rapidly, driven by the growth of cloud computing and AI.
Caterpillar is a major manufacturer of diesel generator sets, a common choice for data-center backup power.
The Irving, Texas, company missed Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations in April and new CEO Joe Creed told analysts that “the potential impact of tariffs has increased uncertainty and the situation remains fluid.”
“Throughout our history, we’ve demonstrated the ability to navigate many different environments.” said Creed, who on May 1 succeeded Jim Umpleby as chief executive.
“I’m confident we’re well-positioned to manage the impact of tariffs over time. Caterpillar is a global company and we have manufacturing locations around the world.”
More Economic Analysis:
China is an important market for Caterpillar, representing around 5% to 10% of its total business sales. During the April 30 quarterly earnings call Creed said “China has shown positive momentum in the 10-ton-and-above excavator industry but from a very low level of activity.”
Chief Financial Officer Andrew Bonfield said: “Given the uncertainty of what tariff rates could be and the timing of any additional mitigation actions that we may take once the situation becomes clearer, it is not possible to derive an accurate estimate of the net full year impact of tariffs.”
