Some look for reassurance about the economic climate in the company's sales momentum; others, on the contrary, look for early signs of economic contraction.

A third, more fastidious cohort wonders whether there might be something fishy going on, and if so, how to detect it. Caterpillar's accounts are complex to decipher, just as its relationships with its distributors are opaque.

At one time, this earned the group the wrath of short-sellers. It has to be said that the parties involved lost some of their feathers, while Caterpillar's share price continued to soar to new heights.

More than half of the Irving-based group's operating profit comes from its construction segment. Sales and margins remain at record levels this year. Cat, among others, is an indirect beneficiary of the major investment program launched by the US federal government to modernize its infrastructure.

The other two segments - mining, energy and transportation equipment - are also in fine fettle, with sales and profits at record levels. The eternal Cassandras will already be saying: "at the peak of the cycle", and perhaps they won't be completely wrong.

The results for the third quarter of the 2024 financial year, while still excellent, show a noticeable loss of momentum: sales are down by 4%, and operating profit by 9%, compared with the same period last year.

In addition, the order book grew by a very modest $0.1 billion this quarter, compared with $0.6 and $0.7 billion in the previous two quarters.

However, it would be premature to draw any conclusions, all the more so against the backdrop of a strong wait-and-see attitude on the part of the US electorate. The Group's profitability remains solidly above its historical average, while its valuation is right on its historical average of x16-x17 earnings.