Caterpillar Drops 4% With 82% of Options Money in Puts, Terex All Puts, Oshkosh All Calls: GTA Terminal Data for Equipment Buyers (November 9-10, 2026)

Caterpillar is the stock most contractors watch when they want a read on the heavy-equipment cycle, and on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 it had a rough session. GTA Terminal data from Global Traders Academy showed the shares down 4.0% by late morning and options money piling into puts. Two smaller makers that sell into the same job sites, Terex (aerial work platforms and material processing) and Oshkosh (JLG lifts, access equipment and specialty trucks), told a split story. Here is what the numbers say for anyone pricing a loader, a lift or a telehandler this winter.

Caterpillar: $26.1M in puts on a 4% drop

By about noon ET on November 10, Caterpillar was down 4.0% at $574.67. According to GTA's November 10 options report on Caterpillar, $31.8M in premium had traded: $5.7M in calls and $26.1M in puts, so 82% of the money was in puts, with a put/call volume ratio of 1.21. The biggest unusual trade was 917 put contracts expiring December 18, about $1.2M in premium against only 224 contracts of open interest, and three contracts traded above their open interest, a sign of new positions rather than old ones being closed.

The chart backs up the caution. Caterpillar was in a downtrend, below its 50-day and 200-day averages, with an RSI of 25, which counts as oversold. Dark-pool volume did not show a rush either way: 1,443,426 shares traded off the exchanges on November 9 (38.7% of volume), down from 2,648,050 on November 4.

Terex: every options dollar in puts

In the November 10 dark pool check on Terex, 397,784 shares traded away from the public exchanges on November 9, just 0.6 times the stock's 20-session normal and 36.6% of the day's volume. In the latest options scan, 100% of Terex premium went into puts. The chart was mixed, above the 50-day average but below the 200-day, with an RSI of 58.

Oshkosh: the opposite bet

Oshkosh drew the mirror image. GTA's off-exchange report on Oshkosh showed 227,833 shares in dark pools on November 9, 0.8 times normal and 35.2% of volume, while 100% of the latest scan's premium went into calls. Its chart was also mixed (above the 50-day, below the 200-day) with an RSI of 54. You can follow the bellwether on the Caterpillar stock and data page.

What it means for equipment buyers and contractors

• Dealers may get more flexible. When the industry leader trades oversold with heavy put buying, the market is pricing slower orders. That is often when dealers lean harder on year-end promotions and inventory discounts on yellow iron.

• Lifts are a separate story. Terex puts and Oshkosh calls show investors disagree about access equipment. Rental houses and contractors buying booms and scissor lifts should not assume the same pricing trend as dozers and excavators.

• Quiet dark pools. Off-exchange volume below normal at Terex and Oshkosh, and falling at Caterpillar, means no big institutional push behind the moves yet. One heavy put day is a mood, not a trend.

• Lock what you can control. Machine prices and lead times can shift with the cycle; a financing rate and a payment schedule set now are known costs.

For context, see our earlier look at Caterpillar's bear flag against the lift makers on November 9 and at Caterpillar and Cummins lining up bearish.

A word of caution

Options flow is a signal, not a guarantee. Put buying can be a hedge by investors who own the shares, and an oversold reading sometimes comes right before a bounce. The figures above are intraday and last-session numbers from November 9 and 10 and will change. This is market context, not investment advice. Global Traders Academy's GTA Terminal updates these reads every session.

The bottom line

Caterpillar fell 4.0% on November 10 with 82% of its options money in puts, Terex drew all puts and Oshkosh all calls, and dark pools stayed quiet. For buyers, that points to a softer, more negotiable market for heavy iron, with access equipment still up for debate.

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