Caterpillar Inc. management check
CAT · Industrials · Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment · CEO Joseph E Creed
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $346, against $190 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.98 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.2% of net income$22.2m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $8.9bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 2.9 years of payThe CEO holds 78,958 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 2.9 years of pay. Both: 1 buyer ($219k) and 8 sellers ($113.9m) in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -4.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Umpleby, Mr. Creed. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 99 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | 58 | 55 | |
| Dilution | 100 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 55 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment, by management score. Caterpillar Inc. is 1st of 81 in its sector.
- 12CATCaterpillar Inc.87
- 16EMEEmcor86
- 21GEGE Aerospace85
- 129WABWabtec74
- 133CMICummins73
- 328PCARPaccar59
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 30, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Umpleby, Mr. Creed | $22.2m | $82.3m | $7.6m | $346 | $190 | $8.9bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Umpleby | $25.3m | $45.7m | $9.1m | $216 | $159 | $10.8bn |
| 2023 | Mr. Umpleby | $25.8m | $39.6m | $7.7m | $173 | $135 | $10.3bn |
| 2022 | Mr. Umpleby | $20.6m | $34.1m | $6.6m | $138 | $114 | $6.7bn |
| 2021 | Mr. Umpleby | $24.3m | $34.2m | $7.6m | $116 | $121 | $6.5bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Return on Equity. Its other key measures: Adjusted Profit Per Share, Enterprise Operating Profit, Enterprise Operating Profit After Capital Charge (OPACC), Enterprise Operating Profit Margin, Enterprise Services Revenues, Relative TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Joseph E Creed (Chief Executive Officer) held 78,958 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 28, 2026, roughly $64.2m at that filing's price.
Both: 1 buyer ($219k) and 8 sellers ($113.9m) in six months.
- BoughtDavid MacLennanDirector$219kMay 4, 2026
- SoldJoseph E CreedChief Executive Officer$26.2mAug 28, 2026
- SoldAnthony D. FassinoGroup President$23.4mMay 11, 2026
- SoldLange Bob DeGroup President$22.4mMay 6, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Oct 15, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 10, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 15, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 9, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 3, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 16, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 9, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 20, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 2, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 15, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 8, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 11, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $37.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 87% of net income, and $1.1bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $51.0bn | $59.4bn | $67.1bn | $64.8bn | $67.6bn |
| Net income | $6.5bn | $6.7bn | $10.3bn | $10.8bn | $8.9bn |
| Stock-based pay | $200.0m | $193.0m | $208.0m | $223.0m | $242.0m |
| Buybacks | $2.7bn | $4.2bn | $5.0bn | $7.7bn | $5.2bn |
| Dividends | $2.3bn | $2.4bn | $2.6bn | $2.6bn | $2.7bn |
| Diluted shares | 549m | 530m | 514m | 489m | 472m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.