What is Caterpillar's R&D?

Caterpillar (CAT) reported R&D of $537M in Q1 2026.

How has Caterpillar's R&D changed year-over-year?

Caterpillar's R&D increased by 11.9% year-over-year, from $480M to $537M.

What is the long-term trend for Caterpillar's R&D?

Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Caterpillar's R&D has grown at a 6.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.69B to $2.15B.

Costs of research activities to discover new knowledge and development activities to translate research into new or improved products, services, processes, or technologies.

Caterpillar CAT R&D

R&D at other companies

CumminsCMI

$358M+4.1%

TerexTEX

$9.75M+56.0%

Deere & CompanyDE

$583M+6.2%

Titan InternationalTWI

$5.28M+16.3%

WabtecWAB

$56M+21.7%

Allison Transmission HoldingsALSN

$54M+28.6%

Other financials

Income statement

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Revenue$17.4B+22.2%

Gross profit$6.1B+15.6%

Operating income$3.1B+19.6%

Net income$2.5B+27.2%

EPS (diluted)$5.47+30.2%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$4.1B+14.3%

Total debt$36.9B+14.2%

Total equity$21.3B+9.4%

Total assets$95.6B+12.4%

Cash flow

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Operating cash flow$1.9B+45.1%

CapEx$728.0M+2.5%

Free cash flow$1.1B+97.2%

Valuation

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Market cap$486.85B+187%

P/E51.6×+34.6×

P/S6.9×+4.2×

Profitability

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Gross margin96.6%-4.4pp

Operating margin16.5%-2.7pp

Net margin13.3%-2.4pp

FCF margin13.4%-0.9pp

Returns & leverage

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Return on equity43.5%-11.8pp

Debt / equity1.7×+0.1×

Current ratio1.4×0.0×

Where this comes from

Reported directly by Caterpillar in its filing.

Tagged under the XBRL concept us-gaap:ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense.

The official record: Caterpillar’s 10-Q, filed May 6, 2026, on SEC EDGAR. View the filing →

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Questions, answered.

What is Caterpillar's R&D?: Caterpillar (CAT) reported R&D of $537M in Q1 2026.
How has Caterpillar's R&D changed year-over-year?: Caterpillar's R&D increased by 11.9% year-over-year, from $480M to $537M.
What is the long-term trend for Caterpillar's R&D?: Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Caterpillar's R&D has grown at a 6.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.69B to $2.15B.
What does R&D mean?: Costs of research activities to discover new knowledge and development activities to translate research into new or improved products, services, processes, or technologies.