In this video, Motley Fool industrials analyst Blake Bos outlines three areas investors need to watch at Caterpillar (CAT 2.05%). First, the integration of acquisitions: Caterpillar has made some historically large acquisitions. How these acquisitions are integrated into the company and how synergies are achieved will be important. Second, commodity prices: One of Caterpillar's acquisitions was Bucyrus, a mining equipment company. While this expanded Caterpillar's presence in the mining industry, that same business is highly sensitive to commodity prices. If commodities fall, so will revenues from this segment. Lastly, Caterpillar is looking to roll out a new manufacturing system to help reduce costs. This could be important for its future growth in China where Caterpillar competes with Komatsu. Right now, Komatsu has the largest market share in China -- Caterpillar will need all the help it can get to successfully compete.
Invested in Caterpillar? These are the three places you need to be looking to understand this stock.
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A home grown Kansan and largely self taught investor. I wouldn't classify myself by any particular investing style, just opportunistic. My dream investment would have a greater than 10% free cash flow return on enterprise value and be growing at above industry average rates. Some of my favorite industries to watch right now are: alternative energy, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, and media content production companies. Follow me on any of the social media websites below for the most important 3D printing industry developments and other great stories.