Shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT dropped 1.9% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the construction- and mining-equipment maker reported fourth-quarter profit that missed expectations, as costs growth outpaced revenue growth, while revenue beat forecasts. Net income fell to $1.45 billion, or $2.79 a share, from $2.12 billion, or $3.91 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as impairment and other charges, adjusted earnings per share rose to $3.86 from $2.69 but was below the FactSet consensus of $4.02. Revenue grew 20.3% to $16.60 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $15.82 billion, as resource industries revenue beat expectations while construction industries and energy and transportation revenue missed. Total operating costs jumped 22.4% to $14.92 billion, as operating profit as a percentage or revenue contracted to 10.1% from 11.7%. The stock, which closed at a record high as recently as Friday, has soared 20.8% over the past three months while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has gained 3.0%.
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