Street Skins the CAT on Uncertain Outlook By Gary Dvorchak About this article: For Dvorchak's preview heading into the Caterpillar conference call, please click here. They are squashing Caterpillar after a report that was essentially benign yet could not dispel the uncertainty surrounding the industrial outlook for 2009. Caterpillar missed the Street by a couple of pennies, reporting $1.39 of EPS vs. the $1.41 consensus. Sales missed, too, coming in at $12.15 billion vs. the Street's $12.43 billion. Management maintained guidance for the remainder of the year, which translated to $1.43 EPS for the fourth quarter, but given the substantial lead times and backlog in the business, it is not surprising that recent developments aren't denting the order book for fourth quarter. In fact, management noted that machine orders were up slightly in September! The issue is whether 2009 declines, and at this point management was unwilling to say more than "flat" with 2008, but the company also qualified the discussion... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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