Caterpillar Too Optimistic by Half, Poll Says

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Caterpillar(CAT Quote) appears to be banking on a robust upturn in demand for its machines in China and the so-called emerging economies.

There's pretty much no other way to interpret the company's outlook for 2010. When it reported third-quarter results a few weeks ago in late October, Caterpillar made a much ballyhooed prediction: the Peoria, Ill.-based heavy-equipment juggernaut expects its top line to grow by 10% to 25% next year relative to its projected sales in 2009 of just below $33 billion.

Caterpillar, which does in the neighborhood of 60% of its business overseas, could also receive some help from the mining industry, which appears to be strengthening a bit.

The wildcard is the contruction sector, which won't see improvement until the housing and commercial real-estate markets emerge from their recession-induced comas.

With all this in mind, we asked readers of TheStreet.com to handicap Caterpillar's projected 2010 growth range. What's the most likely outcome: Caterpillar missing the target completely (as it will infamously do this year)? Or hitting the ball out of the park by posting revenue at the high end of its range? Or ending up somewhere in the middle?