Caterpillar (CAT) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026)
Caterpillar's Operating Margin came in at 20.91% for Q2 2026, up 3.65 percentage points from 17.26% a year earlier and up 3.19 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Caterpillar (CAT) Operating Margin (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Over the trailing twelve months to Jun 30, 2026, Caterpillar reported Operating Margin of 17.52%, down 0.71 percentage points year-over-year; for FY2025, it was 16.50%, down 3.67 percentage points from FY2024.
- Operating Margin carries a five-year change of +5.59 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by year, Operating Margin was 20.17% in FY2024 (+0.84 pp), 19.33% in FY2023 (+6.03 pp), 13.30% in FY2022 (-0.19 pp) and 13.49% in FY2021 (+2.59 pp).
- The Q2 2026 figure represents the highest quarterly Operating Margin since Q1 2024.
- Year-over-year, Operating Margin increased in 1 of the last eight quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -1.52 percentage points.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Operating Margin over five years came in Q4 2023 (a gain of 8.24 percentage points), and the weakest in Q1 2025 (a drop of 4.17 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows CAT's Operating Margin at 17.71% (Q1 2026), 13.90% (Q4 2025) and 17.30% (Q3 2025) in the three quarters before Q2 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caterpillar | 282.34 Bn | 282.34 Bn | - | - |
| 2 | Amphenol | 196.37 Bn | 189.89 Bn | 4.02 Bn | - |
| 3 | Deere | 180.40 Bn | 148.49 Bn | 4.66 Bn | 14.72% |
| 4 | Eaton | 142.03 Bn | 139.22 Bn | 2.86 Bn | 16.32% |
| 5 | Parker-Hannifin | 117.42 Bn | 115.55 Bn | 2.25 Bn | 23.86% |
| 6 | Emerson Electric | 93.00 Bn | 85.73 Bn | 2.66 Bn | 26.92% |
| 7 | 3M | 92.98 Bn | 74.42 Bn | 2.78 Bn | 23.66% |
| 8 | Vertiv Holdings | 86.47 Bn | 75.32 Bn | 1.64 Bn | 22.81% |
| 9 | Illinois Tool Works | 82.63 Bn | 79.31 Bn | 1.91 Bn | 27.79% |
| 10 | Cummins | 69.15 Bn | 65.22 Bn | 2.47 Bn | 13.52% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2026 | 20.91% |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 17.71% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 13.90% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 17.30% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 17.26% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 18.10% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 18.03% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 19.54% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 20.86% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 22.27% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 18.36% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 20.52% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 21.09% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 17.22% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 10.12% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 16.17% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 13.64% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | 13.65% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 11.68% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 13.42% |
API Access
Caterpillar Operating Margin API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CAT&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "operating-margin", "ticker": "CAT", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=operating-margin&ticker=CAT&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();