Stock Analysis on Net

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Cash Flow Statement 
Quarterly Data

The cash flow statement provides information about a company cash receipts and cash payments during an accounting period, showing how these cash flows link the ending cash balance to the beginning balance shown on the company balance sheet.

The cash flow statement consists of three parts: cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities, cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities, and cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities.

Caterpillar Inc., consolidated cash flow statement (quarterly data)

US$ in millions

Microsoft Excel
3 months ended: Dec 31, 2025 Sep 30, 2025 Jun 30, 2025 Mar 31, 2025 Dec 31, 2024 Sep 30, 2024 Jun 30, 2024 Mar 31, 2024 Dec 31, 2023 Sep 30, 2023 Jun 30, 2023 Mar 31, 2023 Dec 31, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 Jun 30, 2022 Mar 31, 2022 Dec 31, 2021 Sep 30, 2021 Jun 30, 2021 Mar 31, 2021
Profit of consolidated and affiliated companies 2,401 2,299 2,179 2,003 2,790 2,463 2,681 2,854 2,673 2,793 2,924 1,942 1,454 2,040 1,673 1,537 2,120 1,428 1,414 1,531
Depreciation and amortization 598 570 554 540 555 543 531 524 545 525 542 532 558 551 553 557 586 593 587 586
Actuarial gain on pension and postretirement benefits (294) (154) (97) (606) (833)
Provision (benefit) for deferred income taxes 165 410 (72) (38) (292) (196) (79) (54) (144) (93) (164) (191) (28) (66) (184) (99) (62) (389) (41) 109
(Gain) loss on divestiture 30 228 (64) 572
Goodwill impairment charge 925
Other 233 111 320 78 343 116 110 (5) 170 99 (11) 117 569 83 101 (52) 114 122 84 (104)
Receivables, trade and other (1,350) (469) (474) 155 (130) 215 (164) (81) (118) 146 (136) (329) (585) 82 655 (372) (933) 17 200 (543)
Inventories 538 (376) (649) (990) 367 (138) (204) (439) 1,060 136 (157) (1,403) 499 (1,085) (971) (1,032) (391) (1,016) (522) (657)
Accounts payable 93 113 572 401 (186) (75) (224) 203 (222) (566) (443) 477 12 359 (25) 452 809 339 160 733
Accrued expenses 387 63 186 (198) 182 (60) 107 (38) 208 207 343 38 247 150 (6) (74) 150 24 (62) 84
Accrued wages, salaries and employee benefits 483 509 339 (1,144) 308 385 398 (1,454) 486 562 388 (950) 75 460 520 (965) 173 316 427 191
Customer advances 284 373 563 713 (106) 135 62 279 (436) 232 (81) 365 17 237 203 311 (5) (10) (9) 58
Other assets, net (38) (48) (159) 69 (217) 100 (40) 60 (223) 47 (26) 107 (267) (29) (13) 99 (235) 185 (103) 56
Other liabilities, net 61 182 (237) (300) (67) 81 (385) 267 101 (28) 70 296 (131) (301) (273) (49) (81) 131 (17) (116)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and divestitures 458 347 141 (1,294) 151 643 (450) (1,203) 856 736 (42) (1,399) (133) (127) 90 (1,630) (513) (14) 74 (194)
Adjustments to reconcile profit to net cash provided by operating activities 1,190 1,438 943 (714) 603 1,106 340 (802) 1,330 1,267 325 (369) 1,285 441 560 (1,224) (708) 312 704 397
Net cash provided by operating activities 3,591 3,737 3,122 1,289 3,393 3,569 3,021 2,052 4,003 4,060 3,249 1,573 2,739 2,481 2,233 313 1,412 1,740 2,118 1,928
Capital expenditures, excluding equipment leased to others (898) (658) (555) (710) (703) (444) (341) (500) (536) (378) (261) (422) (428) (282) (240) (346) (420) (254) (167) (252)
Expenditures for equipment leased to others (444) (413) (400) (208) (334) (279) (378) (236) (318) (403) (446) (328) (280) (335) (355) (333) (365) (333) (429) (252)
Proceeds from disposals of leased assets and property, plant and equipment 164 179 216 149 181 199 187 155 218 195 184 184 164 198 199 269 388 241 327 309
Additions to finance receivables (4,365) (3,900) (3,855) (3,209) (3,952) (4,011) (4,190) (3,256) (4,079) (4,109) (3,953) (3,020) (3,325) (3,209) (3,717) (2,988) (3,399) (3,400) (3,574) (2,629)
Collections of finance receivables 3,625 3,491 3,350 3,049 3,374 3,491 3,603 3,140 3,643 3,632 3,590 3,169 3,439 3,219 3,553 2,966 3,209 3,641 2,810 2,770
Proceeds from sale of finance receivables 45 8 11 7 14 32 24 13 23 11 5 24 7 29 12 9 7 17 22 5
Investments and acquisitions, net of cash acquired (21) (5) (19) (2) (2) (32) (8) (47) (15) (5) (44) (8) (28) (8) (41) (51) (12) (386)
Proceeds from sale of businesses and investments, net of cash sold 10 12 6 (6) (103) 42 10 (14) 1 13 (5) 28
Proceeds from maturities and sale of securities 549 617 405 923 314 267 707 1,867 1,144 284 224 239 303 876 633 571 361 148 150 126
Investments in securities (639) (673) (441) (177) (603) (369) (248) (275) (716) (2,611) (542) (536) (678) (281) (680) (1,438) (832) (434) (352) (148)
Other, net 94 34 (44) (9) 56 80 49 8 65 (9) 15 26 (1) (17) 47 (15) 87 55 (15) (48)
Net cash (used for) provided by investing activities (1,880) (1,320) (1,332) (175) (1,649) (1,040) (722) 958 (554) (3,435) (1,199) (683) (843) 190 (575) (1,313) (992) (375) (1,240) (477)
Dividends paid (706) (707) (662) (674) (680) (683) (635) (648) (662) (663) (618) (620) (620) (633) (592) (595) (599) (607) (564) (562)
Common stock issued, and other stock compensation transactions, net 23 20 5 (64) 5 7 16 (8) (24) 58 3 (25) 49 (2) 32 (28) 13 (1) 58 65
Payments to purchase common stock (340) (362) (828) (3,660) (640) (782) (1,820) (4,455) (2,766) (380) (1,429) (400) (921) (1,385) (1,104) (820) (1,046) (1,371) (251)
Excise tax paid on purchases of common stock (73) (40)
Machinery, Energy & Transportation 1,976 494
Financial Products 2,651 2,747 1,098 2,633 2,704 3,428 1,420 2,731 1,897 3,061 1,782 1,517 1,104 1,555 1,884 2,131 58 2,025 2,633 1,779
Proceeds from debt issued, original maturities greater than three months 2,651 2,747 3,074 2,633 2,704 3,428 1,420 2,731 1,897 3,061 1,782 1,517 1,104 1,555 1,884 2,131 58 2,025 2,633 2,273
Machinery, Energy & Transportation (8) (8) (8) (27) (11) (7) (1,008) (6) (7) (4) (5) (90) (5) (7) (7) (6) (9) (8) (1,258) (644)
Financial Products (1,868) (2,029) (2,363) (1,770) (2,443) (1,638) (2,639) (1,564) (1,852) (2,152) (823) (1,385) (2,434) (1,036) (2,852) (1,381) (1,167) (2,646) (1,821) (2,243)
Payments on debt, original maturities greater than three months (1,876) (2,037) (2,371) (1,797) (2,454) (1,645) (3,647) (1,570) (1,859) (2,156) (828) (1,475) (2,439) (1,043) (2,859) (1,387) (1,176) (2,654) (3,079) (2,887)
Short-term borrowings, net, original maturities three months or less 1,000 34 1,006 (934) 680 (1,535) 1,737 (1,050) 381 (1,320) (303) (103) 1,713 (758) 463 (1,016) 2,164 (136) (199) 1,659
Other, net (1) (1) (9) (1) (2) (2)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities 751 (305) 151 (4,496) (426) (1,210) (2,929) (5,000) (3,033) (1,400) (1,393) (1,106) (1,123) (2,267) (2,176) (1,715) (586) (2,746) (1,402) 546
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash (20) (16) (61) 54 (67) (22) 13 (30) 9 (59) (59) (1) (115) (72) 9 (16) (20) (12) 15 (12)
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 2,442 2,096 1,880 (3,328) 1,251 1,297 (617) (2,020) 425 (834) 598 (217) 658 332 (509) (2,731) (186) (1,393) (509) 1,985

Based on: 10-K (reporting date: 2025-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31).


The period under review demonstrates fluctuating cash flows across operating, investing, and financing activities. Profitability from consolidated and affiliated companies exhibits variability, with peaks in December 2021 and June 2023, followed by declines. Depreciation and amortization remains relatively stable throughout the observed timeframe. Several periods show significant non-cash adjustments impacting net cash flow, notably actuarial gains on pension and postretirement benefits and provisions for deferred income taxes.

Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities generally remains positive, though with considerable quarterly variation. A substantial increase is observed in the June 2023 and September 2023 periods. Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and divestitures, show significant swings, particularly a large outflow in the March 2021 and March 2025 periods. Receivables and inventories consistently represent cash outflows, with inventories showing a particularly large outflow in several quarters, offset by a significant inflow in December 2022. Accounts payable and accrued expenses contribute to cash inflows, though these also fluctuate. Customer advances show a mixed pattern, with both inflows and outflows occurring throughout the period.
Investing Activities
Investing activities consistently demonstrate net cash outflows. Capital expenditures, including leased equipment, represent a significant ongoing drain on cash. Additions to and collections of finance receivables show large, offsetting movements, indicating substantial activity in financing arrangements. Proceeds from the sale of businesses and investments, and maturities of securities provide some cash inflows, but are generally insufficient to offset the outflows from capital expenditures and finance receivables. A notable decrease in net cash used for investing activities is observed in September 2022.
Financing Activities
Financing activities exhibit substantial volatility. Dividends paid consistently represent a cash outflow. Payments to purchase common stock are significant outflows in several periods, particularly in December 2023 and March 2024. Proceeds from debt issuance provide inflows, but are often offset by payments on debt. Short-term borrowings demonstrate a fluctuating pattern, contributing to both inflows and outflows. Overall, net cash provided by (used for) financing activities is often negative, indicating a net reliance on external funding or a return of capital to shareholders.

The effect of exchange rate changes on cash is relatively minor compared to the other cash flow components, though it does contribute to fluctuations. Overall, the company demonstrates a complex cash flow profile, influenced by significant operational adjustments, investment in finance receivables, and financing decisions. The period ending December 2025 shows a positive increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, despite substantial outflows in financing activities.