Saudi Construction Equipment Market to Surge: Can CAT Capitalize?

Caterpillar Inc. CAT is well-positioned to benefit from the projected long-term expansion of Saudi Arabia's construction equipment market, as outlined in a recent report by Research and Markets. The market is projected to grow from 37,272 units in 2024 to 52,621 units by 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.92%. This surge will be fueled by large-scale government investments in infrastructure renovation, port expansion and new logistics parks, all central to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative.

As the construction market’s largest segment, earthmoving equipment continues to dominate, with excavators holding the lion’s share in 2024. Saudi Arabia’s investment in renovating its public infrastructure will drive the growth of the earthmoving market even further. 

Demand for material handling equipment is also growing due to the rising number of port expansion projects and the development of warehouses and logistics parks across the country. With Vision 2030 aiming to provide high-quality housing to Saudi citizens while driving the homeownership rate to 70% by 2030, the housing industry is expected to surge. Saudi Arabia's transport infrastructure has progressed significantly from its traditional dependence on personal automobiles to a diverse network of metros and railways connecting major urban centers. These endeavors are projected to support Saudi Arabia's construction equipment market growth. However, challenges such as high construction costs and skilled labor shortages remain potential hurdles.

The expected surge in demand for heavy machinery, particularly in large-scale infrastructure projects, positions Caterpillar to capitalize on its extensive product portfolio and established presence in the region. The company’s construction industries division accounted for 41.5% of total sales in 2024, with the EAME (Europe, Africa, and Middle East) region contributing 17% of external segment sales. These projections present Caterpillar with a promising opportunity to enhance its regional performance, particularly as investments ramp up. Also, CAT’s efforts to automate its products will aid in solving Saudi Arabia’s labor issues.

Apart from Caterpillar, Komatsu Ltd KMTUY and Volvo VLVLY are other prominent players in the Saudi Arabia construction equipment market. 
Komatsu's EMEA offerings include crawler excavators, dozers, graders, wheel loaders and dump trucks, all of which are expected to see strong demand in Saudi Arabia’s evolving construction landscape. Komatsu has made significant strides in addressing labor shortages by deploying Smart Construction —a technology that visualizes jobsite data from the start to end of construction and proposes the optimum procedures and resource allocation.

Volvo’s subsidiary, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), produces a wide range of machinery for the construction, extraction, waste processing and materials handling sectors. With Volvo’s product breadth and Saudi Arabia’s development agenda closely aligned, the company is positioned to capture meaningful long-term value.

CAT’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

CAT shares have gained 12.6% so far this year compared with the industry’s 9.2% growth. In comparison, the Zacks Industrial Products sector has moved up 5.5%. The S&P 500 has gained 6.8% in the same time frame.

Caterpillar is currently trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.71X compared with the industry average of 17.79X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAT’s 2025 earnings indicates a year-over-year decline of 14.6%. The consensus mark for revenues implies a drop of 2.4% for the year. The earnings estimate for 2026 indicates 12.8% growth, with revenue estimates rising 4.7%. 

Earnings estimates for Caterpillar for 2025 have moved down 1.27% over the past 60 days, while the estimate for 2026 has moved up 0.5%. 

Caterpillar stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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