Caterpillar's Record Q3 and $78B Backlog: What It Signals for Used Equipment Buyers

Caterpillar reported net sales and revenue of $20.7 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 17% year over year and, in the words of CEO Joseph Creed, its "highest sales quarter ever." Profit reached $3.3 billion, up 43%. The company's order backlog hit $78 billion, nearly double what it was a year ago.

Where the growth came from

Power and energy: sales of $8.8 billion, up 18%. Power generation sales alone rose 30% year over year, driven by data-center customers. Oil and gas also posted double-digit growth, helped by reciprocating engine aftermarket parts and gas compression engines. Segment profit: $2.1 billion, up 31%.

Construction industries: sales of nearly $8 billion, up 18%, with growth in every geographic region. North America accounted for more than half of external sales. Higher volumes and prices offset unfavourable manufacturing costs, including freight and capacity expansion. Segment profit: $1.8 billion, up 33%.

Resource industries: sales of $4.6 billion, up 15%, but sales to end users rose only 4% because of mining shipment and commissioning delays and fewer locomotive deliveries. Segment profit: $622 million, up 14%.

About 82% of external sales came from North America and the Europe-Middle East-Africa region, while Latin America and Asia-Pacific declined.

What this means if you are buying machines

• New machine lead times stay long. A backlog that has almost doubled in a year means factory slots are scarce well into 2027. Buyers who cannot wait are pushed toward used stock, which supports used prices for late-model machines.
• Tariffs are being priced in, not absorbed. Caterpillar recognised $600 million of tariff costs in Q3, in line with last year but $200 million below Q4 2025, and expects roughly $2.2 billion for the full year. Construction industries carry about half of that total. Price lists reflect it.
• Aftermarket parts demand is rising in power and energy. Growth in reciprocating engine aftermarket parts is a useful signal for anyone stocking or sourcing engine components: that supply chain is under real strain.
• Capacity is being added, slowly. Caterpillar is expanding production of large reciprocating engines and turbines, and last month announced a $1 billion facility in Sanford, North Carolina, focused on compact construction equipment.

Caterpillar expects moderate sales growth in Q4 versus last year with higher operating profit margins, and mid-to-high teens growth for the full year compared with 2025.

For overseas buyers, the practical read is that waiting for new-machine prices to fall is probably the wrong strategy right now. Securing parts supply and confirming delivery slots early matters more than it did a year ago.

Source: Construction Dive, "Caterpillar posts 'highest sales quarter ever,' fueled by data centers," October 30, 2026 (figures from Caterpillar's Q3 2026 earnings release).

Cover image: Caterpillar 330 excavator by Matthew T Rader, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.