CAT Stock Lifts Dow Jones With Massive Earnings Beat

Caterpillar bulldozed Q2 earnings forecasts as the heavy equipment giant reported a $72 billion backlog, up 92% from a year ago. Long a global economic bellwether, Caterpillar has become a bellwether for the AI infrastructure boom amid soaring demand for its gas turbines to power data centers. The construction segment was Caterpillar's biggest growth driver in Q2, but growth was strong across the board.