Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.23 in the fourth quarter of 2023, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$4.75 by a margin of 10%. The bottom-line figure marked a 35.5% year-over- year improvement. Favorable price realization and manufacturing costs, largely reflecting lower freight and improved performance in the Energy & Transportation segments, mainly led to the improvement in CAT’s earnings for the quarter. While the Construction Industries segment reported higher s ...