⚠ Fewer Dealers, Each One HeavierLow threat

Caterpillar (CAT) — threat to the moat

Each dealer merger makes the surviving dealer harder for Caterpillar to lose, under a contract either side can end on ninety days notice.

Every dealer merger makes the survivor more important to Caterpillar. With 150 dealers serving 190 countries12, the loss of one large dealer would now take a whole region with it, and the parties both know it.

US Cat dealers by annual report462019432022412025Caterpillar Forms 10-K FY2019, FY2022, FY2025
Five fewer in the home market.

The contract offers little protection either way. Caterpillar's sales and service agreements "are terminable at will by either party primarily upon 90 days written notice"3. In a network of many small dealers, that clause favours the manufacturer. In a network of fewer, larger ones, a dealer with a country or a state behind it has something to bargain with: territory, fleet financing, rental investment.

Caterpillar also needs the dealers to spend. The Q2 2026 call described dealers' rental fleets requiring more investment4, and the company leans on dealer inventory to smooth its shipments.

The dealers' own investments give them weight too. Major Projects, the dealer-owned rental joint venture announced in 2026, exists to supply larger equipment for projects where individual dealer fleets are insufficient5. When dealers pool capital to serve the biggest customers, they also pool the bargaining position that comes with it.

The measure here is the balance of dealer inventory against dealer sales to users. Dealers that keep investing while their count falls are partners; dealers that start holding back inventory while demand is strong would be using their weight.

References
  1. ReportedWith 150 dealers serving 190 countries, the loss of one large dealer would now take a whole region with it, and the parties both know it.
    Caterpillar Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: dealers and distributors. — FY2025 · publ. 13 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcWith 150 dealers serving 190 countries, the loss of one large dealer would now take a whole region with it, and the parties both know it.
    Moat Explorer calculation from Caterpillar's reported figures ($ millions unless stated). Dealers: 41 + 109 = 150 (2025); 43 + 113 = 156 (2022); 46 + 119 = 165 (2019). Segment margins (segment profit / total segment sales, FY2025 10-K basis): Construction Industries 6,975 / 27,418 = 25.4% (2023), 6,165 / 25,455 = 24.2% (2024), 4,675 / 25,060 = 18.7% (2025); Resource Industries 2,836 / 13,669 = 20.7%, 2,538 / 12,471 = 20.4%, 1,988 / 12,474 = 15.9%; Power & Energy 4,936 / 28,001 = 17.6%, 5,736 / 28,854 = 19.9%, 6,418 / 32,201 = 19.9%; Financial Products 909 / 3,785 = 24.0%, 932 / 4,053 = 23.0%, 966 / 4,220 = 22.9%, 590 / 3,044 = 19.4% (2020). Recast (Rail in Resource Industries): 2,151 / 15,920 = 13.5% (2025), 2,676 / 15,745 = 17.0% (2024); Power & Energy 6,256 / 28,624 = 21.9%. Construction Industries H1 2026 3,482 / 15,507 = 22.5%. Implied Rail: sales 15,920 - 12,474 = 3,446 and profit 2,151 - 1,988 = 163, 163 / 3,446 = 4.7% (2025); sales 15,745 - 12,471 = 3,274 and profit 2,676 - 2,538 = 138 (2024). Power generation 10,275 / 3,963 = 2.6 times (2020-2025); 10,275 / 67,589 = 15.2% of sales and revenues; three times the 2024 base 7,756 x 3 = 23,268. Oil and gas 7,502 / 27,143 = 27.6% of Power & Energy external sales; 7,502 / 3,701 = 2.0 times. Services 24 / 67.589 = 35.5%; (30 / 24)^(1/5) - 1 = 4.6% a year. Backlog 72.1 / 30.0 = 2.4 times; long end 29.2 / 19.3 - 1 = 51%. Customer advances 4,777 / 3,314 - 1 = 44%. Price realization H1 2026 426 + 595 = 1,021; 2024 against 2023 1,238 / 5,596 = 22%. Volume H1 2026 2,318 + 3,113 = 5,431. Capex excluding leased equipment 2,821 / 1,597 - 1 = 77%. Pre-tax return on average MP&E net assets (MP&E adjusted operating profit / average MP&E net assets): 4,675 / 20,070 = 23.3% (2020), 6,453 / 19,662 = 32.8% (2021), 8,656 / 19,841 = 43.6% (2022), 13,439 / 19,450 = 69.1% (2023), 13,246 / 19,999 = 66.2% (2024), 11,327 / 21,417 = 52.9% (2025). Profit 8,884 / 6,147 - 1 = 44.5% and diluted EPS 18.81 / 10.26 - 1 = 83.3% (2018-2025). Dividends paid 2,749 / profit 8,884 = 30.9%. Return on average equity 8,884 / ((19,494 + 21,318) / 2) = 43.5%. Price to earnings at year end (market capitalisation $bn / profit $bn): 39.57 / 2.512 = 15.8 (2015); 93.75 / 0.754 = 124.3 (2017); 74.98 / 6.147 = 12.2 (2018); 81.62 / 6.093 = 13.4 (2019); 98.88 / 2.998 = 33.0 (2020); 111.83 / 6.489 = 17.2 (2021); 124.67 / 6.705 = 18.6 (2022); 150.52 / 10.335 = 14.6 (2023); 175.14 / 10.792 = 16.2 (2024); 268.09 / 8.884 = 30.2 (2025); trailing 370.15 / 10.844 = 34.1. Share price 805.25 / 1,073.46 - 1 = -25%. Trailing twelve months to June 2026: sales and revenues 67,589 - 30,818 + 37,958 = 74,729; profit 8,884 - 4,182 + 6,142 = 10,844; diluted EPS 18.81 - 8.82 + 13.23 = 23.22. Debt at 30 June 2026 5,046 + 35 + 8,026 + 10,655 + 21,384 = 45,146; at 31 December 2025 5,514 + 35 + 7,085 + 10,678 + 20,018 = 43,330; Financial Products debt 5,514 + 7,085 + 20,018 = 32,617, 32,617 / 43,330 = 75%. Financial Products segment assets 41,476 / 64,392 = 64%. Downturns: 38,537 / 47,011 - 1 = -18% (2016); 41,748 / 53,800 - 1 = -22% (2020). Construction Industries Asia/Pacific external sales 3,783 / 4,390 - 1 = -14%; North America share 14,064 / 24,800 = 57%. Shares of 2025 sales and revenues of 67,589: Construction Industries 24,800 = 36.7%; Resource Industries 12,185 = 18.0%; Power & Energy 27,143 = 40.2%; Financial Products 4,220 = 6.2%; Construction and Resource together (24,800 + 12,185) / 67,589 = 54.7%. Segment external sum 27,143 + 24,800 + 12,185 + 4,220 = 68,348 against 67,589 (difference 759, All Other +46 and corporate items -805); 2024 25,344 + 12,100 + 24,088 + 4,053 = 65,585 against 64,809 (776); 2023 27,294 + 13,329 + 23,355 + 3,785 = 67,763 against 67,060 (703). Power & Energy share 27,143 / 68,348 = 39.7%. 2030 range: 64,809 x 1.06^6 = 91,933; 64,809 x 1.09^6 = 108,691. RPMGlobal 733 / 67,589 = 1.1%. Autonomous trucks 827 / 690 - 1 = 20%; 690 x 3 = 2,070. Tech-enabled machines 500 / 191 = 2.6 times. Latin America employees 22,300 - 19,700 = 2,600 (EAME 16,700 - 15,900 = 800; Asia/Pacific 26,900 - 25,300 = 1,600; North America 52,100 - 52,000 = 100). Profit 2025 8,884 / 10,792 - 1 = -17.7%. Cost of goods sold 44,752 / 40,199 - 1 = 11.3%. Financial Products segment assets 41,476 / 36,925 - 1 = 12.3%. Power generation growth 7,756 / 6,362 - 1 = 21.9%, 10,275 / 7,756 - 1 = 32.5%. Engine capex at 4% to 5% of 2025 machinery, power and energy sales of 63,980: 2,559 to 3,199. Earnings implied by forward and trailing P/E 34.70 / 28.01 - 1 = 24%. Analyst target 975.61 / 805.25 - 1 = 21%. Segment capex 2025: Construction Industries 358 + Resource Industries 626 = 984, against Financial Products 1,341. Power & Energy Q2 2026 external sales: North America 4,182 against other regions 373 + 1,348 + 892 = 2,613 - segment margins, growth and price realization. — 2015-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in Caterpillar's Forms 10-K, 10-Q, results releases, the March 2026 recast exhibit, the February 2026 Barclays deck, the earnings calls and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  3. ReportedCaterpillar's sales and service agreements "are terminable at will by either party primarily upon 90 days written notice".
    Caterpillar Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: history, products, Cat Financial, employees and order backlog. — FY2025 · publ. 13 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe Q2 2026 call described dealers' rental fleets requiring more investment, and the company leans on dealer inventory to smooth its shipments.
    The Motley Fool, Caterpillar Q2 2026 earnings call transcript and summary - lead times, backlog delivery, rental demand, Wamego, the 10-megawatt engine restart and Skycatch. — Q2 2026 · publ. 11 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedMajor Projects, the dealer-owned rental joint venture announced in 2026, exists to supply larger equipment for projects where individual dealer fleets are insufficient.
    The Motley Fool, Caterpillar Q2 2026 earnings call transcript and summary - lead times, backlog delivery, rental demand, Wamego, the 10-megawatt engine restart and Skycatch. — Q2 2026 · publ. 11 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026