Monday, October 26 is the cutoff. Caterpillar shareholders of record at the close of business that day will receive the company’s $1.63 quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 19. The board voted October 14 to keep the payout where it was.
A corrected record date
The first version of the announcement carried a different record date. Caterpillar reissued the release with a single change, updating the date in its first paragraph to October 26. Anyone who noted the earlier date should use the corrected one, October 26, and the payment date of November 19 did not change.
Caterpillar moves quickly from vote to cash. Directors acted on October 14, shareholders must be on the books by October 26, and the $1.63 arrives November 19, five weeks after the vote.
The company says its directors “voted to maintain” the quarterly dividend at $1.63 a share on common stock. Maintaining means no change from the prior payment. At that rate the annual total is $6.52 a share.
For a holder of 200 shares, one payment comes to $326. The same 200 shares bring $1,304 across four quarters if the board holds the amount steady. Caterpillar’s own release carries the same dates and amount.
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Quarterly payments since 1933
Caterpillar says it has paid a cash dividend every year since the company was formed, and a quarterly dividend since 1933. This payment, the release says, extends the company to 33 consecutive years of higher annual dividends.
That record is why the company is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, an index of companies with long runs of annual increases.
Caterpillar says it has raised the annual total for 33 years running, and this quarter’s vote leaves the per-share amount where it stood. The October payment is therefore a hold at the current rate, not a new step up.
Sales up more than 20% twice this year
Caterpillar’s second-quarter report, issued August 4, showed sales and revenues of $20.5 billion, up 24% from $16.6 billion in the second quarter of 2025. Profit per share was $7.77, against $4.62 a year before. Adjusted profit per share was $8.17.
Chairman and chief executive Joe Creed said the quarter was the first in company history with more than $20 billion in sales and revenues. Operating profit rose 50% to $4.295 billion, a margin of 20.9% against 17.3% a year earlier.
All three segments grew. Power & Energy sales were $8.238 billion, up 17%, with power generation sales up 29% on demand tied mainly to data center applications. Construction Industries rose 35% to $8.346 billion, and Resource Industries rose 20% to $4.648 billion.
The second quarter followed a strong first. In the first-quarter report of April 30, Caterpillar posted $17.4 billion in sales and revenues, up 22% from $14.2 billion, and profit per share of $5.47 against $4.20.
Margins moved the other way in that quarter. Operating profit margin was 17.7%, below 18.1% a year earlier, before the second quarter lifted it to 20.9%. Creed said at the time that “a record backlog provides a strong foundation for continued positive momentum.”
The first quarter also carried the heaviest cash return of the year so far. Caterpillar sent $5.7 billion back to shareholders, made up of $5.0 billion in repurchases and $0.7 billion in dividends. The dividend piece was the same $0.7 billion it was in the second quarter.
Sales climbed from $17.4 billion in the first quarter to $20.5 billion in the second, an 18%% step in one quarter. Profit per share moved from $5.47 to $7.77 over the same stretch. Across the two quarters, GAAP profit came to $13.24 a share, and the two $1.63 dividends took about 25%% of it.
Dividends and buybacks together took $7.9 billion in the first half, counting the $1.4 billion in dividends and $6.5 billion in stock purchases. At the current rate, the dividend alone runs close to $2.8 billion a year, a figure that is simple arithmetic from the $0.7 billion paid each quarter.
What the dividend costs Caterpillar
Caterpillar spent $0.7 billion on dividends in the second quarter and $1.5 billion on share repurchases, for $2.2 billion returned. Over six months, it paid $1.4 billion in dividends and $6.5 billion for stock purchases.
Set against the second quarter’s $7.77 a share in profit, the $1.63 dividend takes about 21%. Buybacks ran well above dividends in both periods, but only the dividend lands in a shareholder’s account as cash.
The company reported 2025 sales and revenues of $67.6 billion. It describes itself as the world’s leading maker of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Its three segments are Power & Energy, Construction Industries and Resource Industries, and it also runs one of the largest independent global dealer networks and offers financing through Cat Financial.
Profit grew faster than sales in each segment. Power & Energy earned $2.027 billion, up 30%, at a 24.6% margin. Construction Industries earned $1.947 billion, up 57%, and Resource Industries earned $693 million, up 23%. Adjusted operating margin for the company was 21.9%.
Holding Caterpillar shares past October 26?
A record date is a deadline with no reminder attached. Miss October 26 and the $1.63 goes to someone else, and retirees watching the calendar for dividends are often missing dates on benefit programs that reward the same attention.
The Benefits Checklist walks through 11 benefit programs, such as Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, SNAP and heating help, with the 2026 income limits for each. A printable application tracker comes with the download, so each deadline and each phone number from the 50-state directory has a line of its own.
Open the Benefits Checklist and its printable application tracker →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
