What actual Caterpillar users think of its equipment
I posted a few questions about Caterpillar from an investor’s perspective at Heavy Equipment Forums and got some insightful replies. What really, truly sets Cat apart from the crowd? It’s not the paint color or the triangle-shaped tracks.
SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE. Cat’s got the dealer network and parts stores to keep their equipment serviced and running when down time costs money that matters most. Their field service and support fleet is unrivaled.
CAT has become the gold standard. When reading parts or service specs its not unheard of to see the term “CAT or equivalent.”
What’s the first thing Cat should do to improve its stock price?
That’s one of my pet peeves about corporate America in general: too much pressure from the shareholders wanting instant gratification with ZERO foresight into the future. Right now I think Cat should be focusing on INNOVATIONS and improvements to the existing product catalog. There’s not a whole lot they can do besides try to stem losses in the current economic climate.
Read more here.
YOUR STATEMENT: “That’s one of my pet peeves about corporate America in general: too much pressure from the shareholders wanting instant gratification with ZERO foresight into the future.”
I say right-on, 10-4, hit-the-nail-on-the-head, amen, thank-you. The corp world cow-tows waaay too much to “wall st.”. When I see huge numerical changes in the dow or nasdaq what I don’t see is RATIONAL thinking. I would think the people that “manage” large investments would act a little educated and somewhat logical. Instead, I see irrational, shoot-from-the-hip, reactionary behavior that is only egged on by the arrogant pundits on the various news channels, especially CNBC. Kind of sounds like I have an attitude about this.
Permalink | Posted February 11th, 2009, at 9:17 amI incorrectly said “YOUR STATEMENT”. I now see the quote came from a “heavy equipment” blogger.
Permalink | Posted February 11th, 2009, at 9:27 amIt’s interesting to me that while companies dance to Wall Street’s tune when times are good, forgiveness seems widespread when the market punishes everybody.
Cat was in the 80s last year and now it’s in the 30s but there’s really no sign that Cat’s dancing to the Street’s tune right now. They’re mainly trying to stay in business and avoid building tractors and engines nobody wants.
The idea that there’s any “smart money” out there suffers from the reality that everybody lost money last year.
Permalink | Posted February 11th, 2009, at 9:45 am