Caterpillar finished up 2016 in the red. The company released its fourth quarter and year-end reports Thurs.
Full-year sales and revenues in 2016 were $38.5 billion. That’s down about 18 percent from 47 billion the previous year. Fourth quarter sales and revenues were also down, coming in at $9.6 billion, down $1.17 billion, compared to $11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Despite the gloomy figures, the company projects a positive outlook for 2017. Caterpillar stock rose 16 percent since the presidential election. And the company says prospects for tax reform and an infrastructure spending bill in the United States are “encouraging.”