Caterpillar

Benjamin Holt invented a steam tractor in 1890. In 1904 he put tracks on one of his wheeled tractors, an event Caterpillar describes as the birth of “the first true ‘Caterpillar.’”⁠[1]

In 1905, company photographer Charlie Clements watched the machine’s tracks move and remarked, “If that don’t look like a monster caterpillar,” which gave it its name. In 1909 the first Holt tractor to wear the Caterpillar name rolled off the line, and in 1910 Holt registered “Caterpillar” as a trademark with the U.S. Patent Office.⁠[2]

While Holt focused on wartime government contracts, companies such as C.L. Best captured the domestic market with new designs. A post-war surplus of machines depressed the market for new tractors, and in 1925 the Holt Manufacturing Company and C.L. Best Tractor Co. merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. The former Holt plant in East Peoria became the company’s largest manufacturing center.⁠[3]

At its founding in 1925, the company’s initial public offering was listed on the Pacific Stock Exchange, now NYSE Arca.⁠[4]

In 1928, Caterpillar made its first acquisition by purchasing the Russell Grader Manufacturing Company.⁠[5]

On December 2, 1929, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the name Caterpillar Tractor Company. Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since it was formed in 1925.⁠[6]

In April 1931, Caterpillar introduced the first true motor grader. That year it also completed its first diesel production model, and its machines changed from gray with red trim to Hi-Way Yellow with black trim. By 1937 it was the world’s largest producer of diesel engines. From 1942 to 1945, Caterpillar operated seven days a week.⁠[7]

The S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry began in March 1957. On the index’s 50th anniversary in 2007, Standard & Poor’s paid tribute to the 86 companies that had been in the index since day one, among them Caterpillar Inc.⁠[8][9]

Caterpillar acquired the company Towmotor in 1965 and Solar Turbines International in 1981.⁠[10]

In 1986 the company was renamed Caterpillar Inc. In May 1991, Caterpillar became one of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.⁠[6]

Caterpillar bought 49 percent of generator-set maker FG Wilson in 1996 and acquired the remaining 51 percent in 1999. In 1998 it acquired engine maker Perkins.⁠[10]

Caterpillar acquired Progress Rail Services, Inc. in 2006, Shandong SEM Machinery Co., Ltd. in China in 2008, Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. in 2010 and MWM GmbH in 2011.⁠[5]

A 2009 whistleblower lawsuit alleged that Caterpillar used offshore subsidiaries in Switzerland and Bermuda to avoid U.S. taxes, and federal agents later raided its then-headquarters in Peoria. In October 2022, Caterpillar reached a $740 million IRS settlement for tax years 2007 through 2016 ($490 million in taxes and $250 million in interest), without penalties.⁠[11]

On July 8, 2011, Caterpillar announced it had completed the acquisition of Bucyrus, valued at approximately $8.8 billion including net debt. Bucyrus became part of Caterpillar Global Mining, headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Group President Steve Wunning said: “This acquisition is all about growth and unprecedented opportunities.”⁠[12]

Caterpillar completed its tender offer for ERA Mining Machinery in June 2012. On January 18, 2013, it disclosed “deliberate, multi-year, coordinated accounting misconduct” at Siwei, its recently acquired company in Zhengzhou, took a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of about $580 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and removed several responsible senior managers.⁠[13]

On October 17, 2016, Caterpillar announced that Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman would retire effective March 31, 2017, and that Jim Umpleby would become CEO effective January 1, 2017. Upon Oberhelman’s retirement, Dave Calhoun would become Non-Executive Chairman of the Board.⁠[14]

On January 31, 2017, Caterpillar said it would move its global headquarters that year from its longtime home in Peoria, Illinois, to the Chicago area, starting with about 300 senior executives and staff.⁠[15]

In mid-2018, the global headquarters moved to leased space in the Corporate 500 office park in Deerfield, Illinois.⁠[16]

On June 14, 2022, Caterpillar announced it would begin moving its global headquarters that year from Deerfield, Illinois, to its existing office in Irving, Texas. Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby said: “We believe it’s in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move.”⁠[17]

On April 15, 2025, Caterpillar announced that Chief Operating Officer Joe Creed would succeed Jim Umpleby as CEO and join the Board of Directors on May 1. Umpleby, CEO since January 1, 2017, would become Executive Chairman of the Board on the same date. Creed joined Caterpillar in 1997.⁠[18]

Caterpillar’s primary business segments are Power & Energy, Construction Industries and Resource Industries, plus a Financial Products segment. As of December 31, 2025, it employed about 118,000 full-time persons and its dealers served 190 countries.⁠[19]

Caterpillar’s 2025 sales and revenues were $67.6 billion, up 4 percent from $64.8 billion in 2024. Profit attributable to common shareholders was $8.884 billion ($18.81 per share), compared with $10.792 billion in 2024, and enterprise operating cash flow was $11.7 billion. CEO Joe Creed said the company entered the new year with a record backlog.⁠[20]

On August 4, 2026, Caterpillar posted second-quarter sales and revenues up 24 percent to $20.5 billion and profit per share of $7.77. Chairman and CEO Joe Creed said: “This is the first time in company history that we have generated over $20 billion in sales and revenues in a single quarter.”⁠[21]