Buyback Radar
Company reports

Caterpillar

CAT

Caterpillar has retired 35.0% of its shares since 1999, from 707,555,762 to 459,674,889.

35.0%retired since 1999
15.0%last 5 years
1.8%last 12 months
460Mshares today
Shares outstanding, 1999 to todaysplit adjusted, from SEC filings
a quarter gone 2021708M shares, 1999460M200020052010201520202025
1999, 707,555,7622026-06-30, 459,674,889
A share bought in 1999
1.5× more of Caterpillar today, without buying another share. It was one of 707,555,762 shares then. It is one of 459,674,889 now.
Every filing we read26 fiscal years, split adjusted
Fiscal yearDateShares outstandingFiling
19991999-12-31707,555,76210-K405cover page
20002000-12-31686,793,62010-Kcover page
20012001-12-31686,752,88810-K405cover page
20022002-12-31688,510,13410-Kcover page
20032003-12-31687,524,08010-Kcover page
20052004-12-31685,873,89810-Kcover page
20062006-12-31645,808,17610-Kcover page
20072007-12-31623,986,13410-Kcover page
20082008-12-31601,500,00010-K
20092009-12-31624,722,71910-K
20102010-12-31638,822,71410-K
20112011-12-31647,533,34410-K
20122012-12-31655,048,49310-K
20132013-12-31637,822,34210-K
20142014-12-31606,166,55910-K
20152015-12-31582,321,89010-K
20162016-12-31586,486,02410-K
20172017-12-31597,625,77210-K
20182018-12-31575,542,73810-K
20192019-12-31550,082,61010-K
20202020-12-31545,303,84710-K
20212021-12-31535,888,05110-K
20222022-12-31516,345,49010-K
20232023-12-31499,377,26910-K
20242024-12-31477,932,02410-K
20252025-12-31465,287,33210-K

Source: all 10-K filings of Caterpillar on EDGAR. Download this series as CSV. Licence CC BY 4.0, credit Buyback Radar.

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Caterpillar buybacks, answered

Is Caterpillar buying back its stock?

Yes. Caterpillar has 1.8% fewer shares outstanding than twelve months ago, 459,674,889 as of June 30, 2026. Over five years the share count is down 15.0%.

How many shares has Caterpillar bought back?

Net of every new share it issued, Caterpillar has 247.9 million fewer shares than at its 1999 peak. That is 35.0% of the company.

How many shares does Caterpillar have outstanding?

459,674,889 shares, as of June 30, 2026, from the cover page of its latest 10-Q. At the 1999 peak it had 707,555,762.

What do Caterpillar's buybacks mean for a shareholder?

Each share is a bigger slice of the company. Someone who held Caterpillar stock in 1999 owns 1.5 times as much of the business today without buying another share. Whether that was a good use of cash depends on the price paid.

How does Caterpillar compare with other cannibal stocks?

Caterpillar ranks No. 147 of 251 companies on Buyback Radar by share of the company retired since its peak. Close to it on the list: Bank of America (35.4%), Johnson Controls International (35.3%), KLA (34.6%), Nucor (34.3%).

Every answer is computed from Caterpillar's own SEC filings and rebuilt every Monday. Latest count: 10-Q on EDGAR.

Superinvestors who own it

Bill NygrenHarris Associates1,840 shares, $2.0M, Q2 2026
Tom GaynerMarkel Group328,650 shares, $350.0M, Q2 2026
Tom RussoGardner Russo & Quinn265 shares, $282K, Q2 2026
Gates FoundationGates Foundation Trust6,353,614 shares, $6.8B, Q2 2026

From the latest 13F filings. All superinvestors.

Insider buying, last 12 months

MacLennan DavidDirector2026-05-04, 250 shares at $876.84 $219K total
MacLennan DavidDirector2025-11-06, 300 shares at $568.86 $171K total

The story

The numbers say what happened. The story says whether it can continue. We cover companies like Caterpillar in depth on Cannibal Stocks.

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