Caterpillar crushes estimates in terrible economy, sees fourth quarter recovery

Caterpillar (CAT), the manufacturer of heavy equipment for industries including mining and agriculture, reported earnings before the market opened today. Earnings for the second quarter of 2009 were $0.60 per share, or $0.72 per share after stripping out one-time charges, compared to the average of $0.22 per share expected from analysts. Revenues were $7.975 billion, compared to the $8.86 billion average expected by analysts.

After rising nearly eight percent yesterday, the stock was up another eight percent in pre-market trading shortly following the announcement.