Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): return on invested capital, 10 filed years
ROIC at Caterpillar Inc. was 17.6% in FY2025, the newest filed year. Across the 7 computed years from FY2019 it ranged from 9.8% (FY2020) to 24.2% (FY2023), with a median of 16.8%.
Tonight's figure on the company page: 17.6%, recomputed 2026-10-16. The table is each filed year on its own terms, with the formula below; the current figure may use trailing twelve months or, where the explainer says so, a different denominator.
Year by year
| Fiscal year | ROIC | Read from |
|---|---|---|
| FY2016 The filed borrowings do not add up to a total we can stand behind: the filer's own liability subtotals leave room for debt we did not read. | n/a | 10-K, filed 2017-02-15 |
| FY2017 The filed borrowings do not add up to a total we can stand behind: the filer's own liability subtotals leave room for debt we did not read. | n/a | 10-K, filed 2018-02-15 |
| FY2018 The filed borrowings do not add up to a total we can stand behind: the filer's own liability subtotals leave room for debt we did not read. | n/a | 10-K, filed 2019-02-14 |
| FY2019 | 16.8% | 10-K, filed 2020-02-19 |
| FY2020 | 9.8% | 10-K, filed 2021-02-17 |
| FY2021 | 13.8% | 10-K, filed 2022-02-16 |
| FY2022 | 14.7% | 10-K, filed 2023-02-15 |
| FY2023 | 24.2% | 10-K, filed 2024-02-16 |
| FY2024 | 23.4% | 10-K, filed 2025-02-14 |
| FY2025 | 17.6% | 10-K, filed 2026-02-13 |
How each year is computed
Operating income x (1 - effective tax rate) / (equity + total debt - cash) x 100
Each year is a ratio of lines in that year's filed annual report, with the nightly recompute's own rules for what counts as a filed line. Nothing is estimated, smoothed or filled in: a year that cannot be computed says why.
Read further
A computation on accounts filed with the SEC, not a recommendation and not advice. Past filings do not indicate future results. Risk disclaimer.