FFilingSight

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) 10-K Red Flags

Risk signals extracted deterministically from Caterpillar Inc.’s SEC 10-K/10-Q XBRL filings — no LLM, every finding cites the underlying data.

Detected red flags (16)

  • Receivables outpacing revenue: Accounts receivable grew +17.6% YoY vs revenue growth of +4.3%. The +13.4% spread suggests extended credit terms, channel stuffing risk, or collection deterioration. Investigate the allowance for doubtful accounts and DSO trend.
  • Material weakness in internal controls: The term "material weakness" "internal control" appears in 2 recent filing(s) (vs 2 in the prior period). This risk language is ongoing.
  • Restatement of financial statements: The term "restatement of" "previously issued" appears in 5 recent filing(s) (vs 1 in the prior period). This risk language is ongoing.
  • Operating cash flow exceeds net income: OCF is 3.91x net income, indicating high earnings quality — cash conversion is strong and accruals are not inflating reported profits.
  • Deferred revenue growing — future revenue visibility: Deferred revenue grew +42.7% to $3.31B, providing forward revenue visibility. This is a positive leading indicator for subscription or contract-based businesses.
  • Endogenous analysis: Revenue grew +4.3% but receivables grew +17.6% — the receivables-to-revenue gap suggests growth may be partially driven by extended credit terms rather than genuine demand. If DSO continues to rise, a revenue reversal or bad-debt charge could follow.
  • Endogenous analysis: Strong cash conversion (OCF > NI) combined with growing deferred revenue provides high forward visibility. The business model appears to generate sustainable, recurring cash flows — a positive structural indicator.
  • 4 new XBRL disclosure(s) in latest filing — expanding reporting scope.
  • 20 disclosure(s) dropped from prior year — reduced reporting granularity.
  • Ongoing high-severity risk language: Material weakness in internal controls, Restatement of financial statements.
  • Market cap $375.16B at $816.15 per share.
  • Trailing P/E 43.39, P/S 5.55, P/B 19.34.
  • Composite risk: Elevated.
  • Leverage debt/equity 1.58 (moderate).
  • Receivables outpacing revenue: Accounts receivable grew +17.6% YoY vs revenue growth of +4.3%. The +13.4% spread suggests extended credit terms, channel stuffing risk, or collection deterioration. Investigate the allowance for doubtful accounts and DSO trend.
  • Material weakness in internal controls: The term "material weakness" "internal control" appears in 2 recent filing(s) (vs 2 in the prior period). This risk language is ongoing.

Filings & ownership

  • Latest annual report (10-K) filed Feb 13, 2026.
  • Latest quarterly report (10-Q) filed Aug 5, 2026.
  • 6 recent 8-K material-event filings in the index.
  • Recent insider Form 4s: 0 buy vs 0 sell transactions.
  • ~10,000+ recent 13F-HR filings reference Caterpillar Inc.; broad institutional reporting.
  • Recent filers include COLUMBIA CAPITAL LLC, Axiom Investment Management LLC, SCOPIA MANAGEMENT INC.
  • 2 recent 13D activist/beneficial-ownership filings — potential catalyst.
  • 18 recent 13G passive institutional ownership notices.

Full CAT analyst report

Valuation (DCF & Graham), technicals, macro exposure, risk scorecard and 13F/13D ownership.

View full report →

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