Caterpillar (XSWX:CAT) Property, Plant and Equipment: CHF12,006 Mil (As of Mar. 2026)

Caterpillar  (XSWX:CAT) Property, Plant and Equipment Explanation

A company with durable competitive advantage doesn't need to constantly upgrade its equipment to stay competitive. The company replaces when it wears out. On the other hand, a company without any advantages must replace to keep pace.

Difference between a company with a moat and one without is that the company with the competitive advantage finances new equipment through internal cash flows, whereas the no advantage company requires debt to finance.

Producing a consistent product that doesn't change equates to consistent profits. There is no need to upgrade plants which frees up cash for other ventures. Think Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson etc.

Caterpillar Property, Plant and Equipment Related Terms

The historical data trend for Caterpillar's Property, Plant and Equipment can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Caterpillar Property, Plant and Equipment Chart

Caterpillar Annual Data
	Trend	Dec16	Dec17	Dec18	Dec19	Dec20	Dec21	Dec22	Dec23	Dec24	Dec25
Property, Plant and Equipment		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					11,134.89	11,205.29	10,965.66	11,912.67	12,065.07

Caterpillar Quarterly Data
	Jun21	Sep21	Dec21	Mar22	Jun22	Sep22	Dec22	Mar23	Jun23	Sep23	Dec23	Mar24	Jun24	Sep24	Dec24	Mar25	Jun25	Sep25	Dec25	Mar26
Property, Plant and Equipment	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															11,868.52	11,300.23	11,392.19	12,065.07	12,005.54

Caterpillar Property, Plant and Equipment Calculation

Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) are the fixed assets of the companyFixed assets are also known as non-current assets.

Property, plant, and equipment includes assets that will - in the normal course of business - neither be used up in the next year nor will become a part of any product sold to customers.

Some of the most common parts of property, plant, and equipment are:

Companies with lots of property, plant, and equipment often have special categories. For example, railroad property includes:

There is often a note in the financial statements - found in a company's 10-K - that will explain the different categories of property a company owns.

The market value of property, plant, and equipment can differ tremendously from the book value of property, plant, and equipment.

For example, when Berkshire Hathaway liquidated its textile mills, it had to pay the buyers of the company's manufacturing equipment to haul the equipment away. That property, plant, and equipment was literally worth less than zero. On the other hand, some companies own thousands of acres of land.

All property, plant, and equipment other than land is depreciated. Land is never depreciated. However, land is not marked up to market value either. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), land is shown on the balance sheet at cost.

The property, plant, and equipment line shown on the balance sheet is usually net property, plant, and equipment. This means it is the cost of the property, plant, and equipment less accumulated depreciation.

Caterpillar Business Description