Caterpillar Inc. shares /zigman2/quotes/203434128/composite CAT -2.11% rose 1.4% in premarket trade Thursday, after the maker of construction and mining equipment blew past estimates for the first quarter. Caterpillar posted net income of $1.537 billion, or $2.86 a share, for the quarter, up from $1.530 billion, or $2.77 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $2.88, ahead of the $2.60 FactSet consensus. Revenue and sales rose to $13.589 billion from $11.887 billion, also ahead of the $13.253 billion FactSet consensus. "The increase was primarily due to higher sales volume, driven by higher end-user demand for equipment and services and the impact from changes in dealer inventories, as well as favorable price realization," the company said in a statement. "Dealers increased inventories more during the first quarter of 2022 than during the first quarter of 2021." The company's operating margin fell to 13.7% from $15.3% in the year-earlier period. Share have gained 3.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX -0.07% has fallen 12%.
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