What If You Invested $1,000 in Caterpillar (CAT)?
Enter any amount and start date. We use historical prices to show your hypothetical return.
CAT
Historical extremes
What if you bought at the best or worst time? Check max profit, max drawdown, and total return since IPO.
Max profit
+190,095%
(1,901 times)
- Buy
- Jun 25, 1962
- $0.44
- Sell
- Apr 23, 2026
- $835.24
Buying CAT at the best price and selling at the peak would have turned $1,000 into $1,901,946.94.
Max drawdown
73.42%
(fell to 27% of peak)
- Peak
- Jul 19, 2007
- $54.11
- Trough
- Mar 2, 2009
- $14.38
A $1,000 investment in CAT at the peak would have shrunk to $265.75 at the trough.
Return since IPO
+141,703%
(1,418 times)
- IPO
- Jan 2, 1962
- $0.57
- Current
- Apr 29, 2026
- $810.05
A $1,000 investment in CAT at IPO would be worth $1,418,030.63 today.
Frequently asked questions
What is Caterpillar (CAT) stock's all-time high (ATH) and all-time low (ATL)?
- Caterpillar (CAT) stock's all-time low (ATL) was $0.44 on Jun 25, 1962. The all-time high (ATH) was $835.24 on Apr 23, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Caterpillar (CAT) stock for maximum profit?
- Buying Caterpillar (CAT) stock at the best price ($0.44 on Jun 25, 1962) and selling at the peak ($835.24 on Apr 23, 2026) would have turned $1,000 into $1,901,946.94. Historical return: +190,094.69% (1,901 times).
What are Caterpillar (CAT)'s best buy and sell dates for maximum profit?
- The best buy date for Caterpillar (CAT) stock was Jun 25, 1962 at $0.44. The best sell date was Apr 23, 2026 at $835.24. This investment would have returned +190,094.69% (1,901 times).
What was Caterpillar (CAT) stock's maximum drawdown?
- Caterpillar (CAT) stock's worst decline was 73.42% (fell to 27% of peak) from peak to trough. Peak: $54.11 on Jul 19, 2007. Trough: $14.38 on Mar 2, 2009. A $1,000 investment at the peak would have been worth $265.75 at the trough.
What if you bought Caterpillar (CAT) stock at IPO?
- A $1,000 investment in Caterpillar (CAT) stock at IPO ($0.57 on Jan 2, 1962) would be worth $1,418,030.63 today. Historical return: +141,703.06% (1,418 times). Current stock price: $810.05 as of Apr 29, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Caterpillar (CAT) 5 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Caterpillar (CAT) stock 5 years ago ($208.4 on Apr 29, 2021) would be worth $3,887 today. Historical return: +288.70% (3.88 times). Current stock price: $810.05 as of Apr 29, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Caterpillar (CAT) 10 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Caterpillar (CAT) stock 10 years ago ($62.05 on Apr 29, 2016) would be worth $13,054.79 today. Historical return: +1,205.48% (13.0 times). Current stock price: $810.05 as of Apr 29, 2026.
What if you invested $1,000 in Caterpillar (CAT) 20 years ago?
- A $1,000 investment in Caterpillar (CAT) stock 20 years ago ($46.07 on Apr 28, 2006) would be worth $17,583.03 today. Historical return: +1,658.30% (17.5 times). Current stock price: $810.05 as of Apr 29, 2026.
Data & methodology
How does the investment calculator work?
- Enter an investment amount and a start date. We use historical stock prices to calculate how many shares you would have bought, then apply the current price to show your hypothetical portfolio value and return.
What are Historical extremes?
- Max profit: the best buy and sell dates that maximize percentage return. Max drawdown: the largest peak-to-trough decline in price. Return since IPO: total return from IPO date to the latest price.
What is Max drawdown?
- Maximum drawdown is the largest peak-to-trough decline in price. It shows the worst drop from any prior high to a subsequent low. Peak and Trough are the dates and prices at which this decline occurred.
Does this include dividends?
- The calculator uses adjusted closing prices when available, which account for stock splits and dividends. For the most accurate results, we recommend using data that includes dividend adjustments.
Where does the price data come from?
- Historical prices are dividend-adjusted closing prices from our data provider. The calculator and Historical extremes use the same data source for consistent results.
How are the dollar amounts in the cards calculated?
- The dollar amounts in Historical extremes use the investment amount you select in the calculator above (e.g. $1,000). They show what your investment would have been worth at the Buy/Peak/IPO date versus the Sell/Trough/Current date.
What date range can I use?
- The available date range depends on our historical price data for CAT. You can select any date between our first and most recent data point.
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