Caterpillar boosted 5% after Q2 earnings beat

Construction machinery giant Caterpillar surged over 5% higher in the Dow Jones on Tuesday after a second-quarter earnings report which beat expectations.

The company also revised its full-year guidance upward to $5 from its previous forecast of $3.75.

In a strong showing for the period between April and June, net income was 46% higher at $802m in comparison with the corresponding quarter in 2016. Caterpillar earned $1.49 per share against $1.26 estimated by analysts.

Its full-year sales and revenue forecast was lifted to between $42bn and $44bn, having previously been situated at between $38bn and $41bn.

Sales also saw an impressive rise of 9.6% to $11.33bn, coming in at well above estimates of $10.93bn.

“Our team delivered an impressive quarter. As demand increased, we continued to control costs and generated higher profit margins,” said Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby.

“While a number of our end markets remain challenged, construction in China and gas compression in North America were highlights in the quarter. Mining and oil-related activities have come off of recent lows, and we are seeing improving demand for construction in most regions.”

Caterpillar was leading the movers in the Dow Jones in early trading on Tuesday, with the company 4.76% higher as of 16:38 BST.