Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Buyback History
TTM buyback yield 1.94% · Shareholder yield (TTM) 1.94%.
Caterpillar
CAT
TTM buyback yield
1.94%
Shareholder yield (TTM)
1.94%
5Y share count change
-14.5%
TTM buyback spend
$5.19B
SBC coverage (TTM)
21.45x
Diluted vs basic shares (annual)
Weighted average shares from the income statement: diluted (EPS denominator and typical buyback-yield basis) compared with basic.
Shares outstanding (annual)
Year-over-year change in diluted weighted average shares (industry-standard for EPS and per-share capital return). Green is fewer shares vs the prior fiscal year; red is growth (dilution). The earliest year shown has no prior year to compare.
Dividend & buyback yield
Buybacks vs stock-based compensation
TTM coverage: 21.45x (buybacks ÷ SBC). Bars are fiscal-year totals.
Buyback spending history
| Year | Buybacks | SBC | Net | Shares (dil.) | YoY shares | Buyback yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $5.19B | $242.00M | $4.95B | 0.47B | -4.2% | 1.94% |
| 2024 | $7.70B | $223.00M | $7.47B | 0.49B | -4.7% | 4.38% |
| 2023 | $4.97B | $208.00M | $4.77B | 0.51B | -3.2% | 3.34% |
| 2022 | $4.23B | $193.00M | $4.04B | 0.53B | -3.3% | 3.41% |
| 2021 | $2.67B | $200.00M | $2.47B | 0.55B | -0.0% | 2.40% |
| 2020 | $1.13B | $202.00M | $928.00M | 0.55B | -3.3% | 1.14% |
| 2019 | $4.05B | $205.00M | $3.84B | 0.57B | -5.3% | 4.98% |
| 2018 | $3.80B | $198.00M | $3.60B | 0.60B | 0.0% | 5.14% |
| 2017 | $0.00 | $206.00M | −$206.00M | 0.60B | 2.6% | — |
| 2016 | $0.00 | $218.00M | −$218.00M | 0.58B | -2.8% | — |
| 2015 | $2.02B | $283.00M | $1.74B | 0.60B | -4.4% | 5.12% |
| 2014 | $4.24B | $254.00M | $3.98B | 0.63B | -4.5% | 7.64% |
| 2013 | $2.00B | $231.00M | $1.77B | 0.66B | -1.6% | 3.46% |
| 2012 | $0.00 | $245.00M | −$245.00M | 0.67B | 0.5% | — |
| 2011 | $0.00 | $193.00M | −$193.00M | 0.67B | 2.4% | — |
| 2010 | $0.00 | $226.00M | −$226.00M | 0.65B | 3.9% | — |
| 2009 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.63B | -0.3% | — |
| 2008 | $1.80B | $0.00 | $1.80B | 0.63B | -4.8% | 6.69% |
| 2007 | $2.40B | $0.00 | $2.40B | 0.66B | -3.6% | 5.37% |
| 2006 | $3.21B | $0.00 | $3.21B | 0.68B | -3.1% | 8.12% |
| 2005 | $1.68B | $0.00 | $1.68B | 0.71B | 33.8% | 4.34% |
| 2004 | $539.00M | $0.00 | $539.00M | 0.53B | -24.9% | 3.23% |
| 2003 | $405.00M | $0.00 | $405.00M | 0.70B | 1.3% | 1.42% |
| 2002 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.69B | -0.1% | — |
| 2001 | $43.00M | $0.00 | $43.00M | 0.69B | -0.5% | 0.24% |
| 2000 | $412.00M | $0.00 | $412.00M | 0.70B | -3.0% | — |
| 1999 | $260.00M | $0.00 | $260.00M | 0.72B | -2.4% | — |
| 1998 | $567.00M | $0.00 | $567.00M | 0.74B | -3.4% | — |
| 1997 | $706.00M | $0.00 | $706.00M | 0.76B | -2.0% | — |
| 1996 | $303.00M | $0.00 | $303.00M | 0.78B | — | — |
| 1995 | $427.00M | $0.00 | $427.00M | — | — | — |
| 1994 | $240.00M | $0.00 | $240.00M | — | — | — |
| 1993 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | $32.00M | $0.00 | $32.00M | — | — | — |
| 1989 | $9.00M | $0.00 | $9.00M | — | — | — |
Buybacks vs dividends (share of cash returned)
Buyback capacity (TTM)
TTM buybacks vs headroom (FCF − dividends, TTM)69% of headroom
Headroom $7.53B (TTM FCF − TTM dividends, clamped at zero).
Frequently asked questions
Does Caterpillar buy back its own stock?
- Yes, Caterpillar (CAT) has repurchased shares in recent periods. See the history table and charts on this page for amounts and trends.
How much does Caterpillar spend on share buybacks?
- Trailing twelve months (TTM) buyback spend is about $5.19B (sum of the last four quarterly cash-flow periods in our data). Figures are illustrative; verify in filings.
What is Caterpillar's buyback yield?
- TTM buyback yield is about 1.94% (TTM buyback spend divided by market cap at the latest quarter-end in our data).
What is Caterpillar's shareholder yield?
- Shareholder yield combines dividend yield and buyback yield. For the latest period we show approximately 1.94% combined (TTM-based where available).
Is Caterpillar diluting shareholders?
- Compare stock-based compensation (SBC) to buybacks in the chart above. Net effect varies by year; see annual buyback vs SBC bars and the history table.
How has Caterpillar's share count changed?
- Diluted weighted average shares changed by about -14.5% over roughly five fiscal years (annual income statement data).