Caterpillar soars after record profit, says tariffs will wipe out up to $200M

Shares in Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), the world's No.1 heavy machinery maker, jumped over 3% in pre-market trading Monday after it posted record second quarter earnings per share Monday, while also bumping up its full-year profit forecast.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company reported an adjusted profit of $2.97 a share in the three months to June 30, compared with $1.49 a share last year. For the whole year, Caterpillar now expects adjusted profit per share to be in a range of $11.00 to $12.00 in 2018, compared with $10.25 to $11.25 projected earlier.

The giant machinery maker, which attributed the positive results to robust global demand for its equipment, also gave a figure to how much tariffs will affect its bottom line. It said it expected them to wipe out between $100 million and $200 million in the second half of the year, so would it would to offset the hit by raising prices.

The estimate comes after the US administration slapped tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods earlier this month. The country has also implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union. They have retaliated against those levies with tariffs of their own.

More to come…