Investing.com - Global construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) saw shares fall 4% in pre-market trade on Tuesday after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings.
Caterpillar said earnings per share was $1.35 in the fourth quarter, missing expectations for earnings of $1.55 per share and compared with profit per share of $1.68 in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The company’s fourth quarter revenue totaled $14.24 billion, above forecasts for revenue of $14.18 billion, but slightly down from $14.402 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013.
"Overall, we had many positives and a better year in 2014 than 2013," said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman.
The company now expects 2015 sales and revenues to be about $50 billion, below the previous outlook of $55 billion.
The company's profit outlook for 2015 is about $4.60 per share, or $4.75 per share excluding restructuring costs.
Following the release of the report, shares in Caterpillar tumbled 4.6% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow futures indicated a loss of 0.9% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a decline of 0.6%, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.75%.