Caterpillar (CAT) is expected to report Q1 earnings on Monday, April 26 before the market open with a conference call scheduled for 11 am ET.

GUIDANCE

Analysts are looking for EPS of 39c on revenue of $8.63B.  The consensus range is 22c-66c for EPS and revenue of $7.45B-$9.65B, according to First Call.  Caterpillar reported mixed results in Q4, missing revenue estimates but beating EPS.  It also gave a mixed forecast for FY10, predicting EPS of $2.50 vs. consensus of $2.71, and a revenue increase of 10%-25% over FY09 levels.  Caterpillar will take a Q1 charge due to the health care reform bill that may impact earnings.  Recent sentiment in the stock has been mixed.  On March 23, Wells Fargo significantly lowered its Q1 EPS estimate on Caterpillar to below-consensus levels to reflect weaker demand trends.  On March 18, Caterpillar reported that world dealer sales were down 20% year-over-year in the three months leading up to February.  On February 18, it reported that North American sales were down 40% in the past three months; Asia Pacific sales were up 1%; and world retail sales of machines were down 27%.

ANALYSTS' VIEWS

On a positive note, on April 12, the stock was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at RW Baird with a target of $88.  On February 9, Morgan Stanley upgraded it to Overweight from Underweight and raised their target to $70 from $51.  Despite the mixed sentiment, the stock has rallied approximately 33% since Q4 results were released in late January.