The Market Is Flat for the Year but These Industrial Stocks Are Soaring

By Matthew Benjamin – Feb 12, 2026 at 10:15AM ESTKey PointsThe markets for farm equipment and construction machinery are expanding rapidly.Interestingly, the AI data center buildout is helping to drive these stocks higher.We’re bullish on these 10 stocks ›NYSE: CATCaterpillarMarket Cap$363BToday's Changeangle-down(0.59%) $4.54Current Price$779.54Price as of February 12, 2026 at 10:50 AM ETConstruction and farm equipment makers are benefiting from strong spending.Farm and construction machinery stocks are soaring in 2026, up double digits in a market that's moving sideways. Three industrial stocks make up the group within the S&P 500, and they're all outperforming the broader index by a mile. Paccar (PCAR 0.59%) makes light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF brands. It also makes advanced diesel engines. The stock is up more than 16% this year. ExpandNASDAQ: PCARPaccarToday's Change(-0.59%) $-0.76Current Price$128.72Key Data PointsMarket Cap$68BDay's Range$128.63 - $130.7052wk Range$83.58 - $131.88Volume47KAvg Vol3.3MGross Margin17.73%Dividend Yield1.26% Caterpillar (CAT +0.59%) manufactures a wide variety of construction and farm equipment, plus power systems like gas generators. This stock has skyrocketed 28% so far in 2026. ExpandNYSE: CATCaterpillarToday's Change(0.59%) $4.54Current Price$779.54Key Data PointsMarket Cap$363BDay's Range$774.51 - $789.6752wk Range$267.30 - $789.67Volume48KAvg Vol2.7MGross Margin34.32%Dividend Yield0.77% And Deere (DE +1.42%), like Caterpillar, makes a wide array of construction and agriculture machines and equipment. The stock is up more than 25% so far this year. ExpandNYSE: DEDeere & CompanyToday's Change(1.42%) $8.67Current Price$621.36Key Data PointsMarket Cap$166BDay's Range$612.87 - $626.1252wk Range$404.42 - $626.12Volume27KAvg Vol1.5MGross Margin38.54%Dividend Yield1.06% Caterpillar reported its fourth quarter results on Jan. 29 and they were stellar. Revenue climbed 18% in the quarter to $19.1 billion while earnings hit $5.16 a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings per share of $4.71 on revenue of $17.9 billion. The stock has climbed 10% since the earnings release. Caterpillar's gas turbine division in particular is booming, and that's partly due to the massive artificial intelligence (AI) data center buildout and its insatiable power needs. Sales in the division rose 23% during the quarter, to $1.75 billion. The company expects to double sales of power generation equipment by 2030. As for Deere, the company will report quarterly results on Feb. 19. Analysts expect earnings of $2.10 a share on revenue of $7.5 billion. And Paccar reported fourth quarter results on Jan. 27, with adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share on revenue of $6.8 billion. Both figures beat the consensus on analyst expectations. Image source: Getty Images. These are good times for heavy equipment manufacturers All three stocks are benefiting from urban expansion around the world and the infrastructure (like roads, bridges and railways) needed to accommodate it. The market for heavy construction equipment is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 6.2% a year through 2034, to $372 billion. Plus, the agriculture equipment market is moving out of a down cycle and is projected to grow 8.6% per year through 2035 and top $689 billion by then, twice as large as the market in 2025. And there's the AI buildout, which is highly favorable for construction equipment makers and industrial transportation firms. The four largest AI hyperscalers are expected to spend at least $625 billion on data centers and AI infrastructure this year. If you're bullish on the U.S. economy, as I am, you should consider these three stocks, as the products they make are critical to economic growth.Read NextFeb 2, 2026 •By Daniel FoelberI Correctly Predicted That 2024's Best-Performing Dow Jones Stock Would Beat the S&P 500 Again in 2025. Does 2025's Leading Dow Stock Have Room to Run in 2026?Jan 1, 2026 •By Lee SamahaEvaluating Caterpillar Stock's Actual PerformanceNov 26, 2025 •By Lee SamahaWhat Every Caterpillar Investor Should Know Before BuyingNov 24, 2025 •By Adam SpataccoCaterpillar Is Quietly Beating Nvidia Stock This Year.

Should You Buy It?Nov 5, 2025 •By Timothy GreenWhy Caterpillar Stock Surged 21% in OctoberOct 29, 2025 •By Joe TenebrusoWhy Caterpillar Stock Jumped to Record High TodayAbout the AuthorMatthew Benjamin is a contributing Motley Fool stock market and investing analyst covering publicly-traded companies across all sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Matt was a senior markets expert at an investing newsletter in Baltimore, an editorial consultant to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and an economics correspondent at Bloomberg News. He holds a B.A. from Bucknell University and an M.A. from New York University. Fun fact: Matt has met every Federal Reserve Chair from Paul Volcker through Jerome Powell.TMFMbenjamin68Stocks MentionedCaterpillarNYSE: CAT$779.54 (+0.59%) $+4.54Deere & Company NYSE: DE$621.36 (+1.42%) $+8.67PaccarNASDAQ: PCAR$128.72 (0.59%) $0.76*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.