PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest construction and mining equipment maker, is likely to report strong fourth-quarter results on Thursday and update investors on its outlook for 2012.

This quarterly report will also show what mining equipment maker Bucyrus International is contributing to Caterpillar because the fourth quarter is the first period to include Bucyrus' contribution for the entire period.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Credit Suisse analyst Jamie Cook said she expects the Peoria, Ill., company to beat expectations in the fourth quarter and increase its 2012 profit outlook. Cook said she believes Caterpillar will predict 2012 earnings per share between $9 and $10.

Caterpillar has said it expected to earn $6.75 per share on sales of $58 billion in 2011. The company has also predicted its revenue would grow 10 percent to 20 percent in 2012 to between $63.8 billion and $69.6 billion.

Caterpillar said last fall that it expected the global economy to grow at a slow pace of about 3.5 percent in 2012 with the United States and Japan leading the way.

Citi Investment Research analyst Timothy Thein said he expects Caterpillar to boost its revenue forecast for 2012, but slowing growth in China could limit the size of the increase.

Thein said the fourth-quarter results may be a good gauge for how the integration of Bucyrus is going so far. Caterpillar paid $7.6 billion to acquire Bucyrus last year.

In the past two months, Caterpillar has sold off two pieces of Bucyrus' distribution and service network to independent Caterpillar dealers for a total of $825 million. Thein said he expects the proceeds from those sales will be reinvested in growth opportunities for Caterpillar.

WHY IT MATTERS: Caterpillar's results are considered an indicator of industrial activity and the health of the economy. Nearly every sector needs the equipment Caterpillar sells in order to grow, whether it's a utility installing new power lines, a mining company digging for ore, or a developer building new homes. When the economy is growing, Caterpillar sells more of its backhoes, mining equipment and engines.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: On average, the analysts surveyed by FactSet expect Caterpillar to report net income of $1.77 per share on $15.95 billion.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Strong demand in developing nations helped Caterpillar's 2010 fourth-quarter net income more than quadruple to $968 million, or $1.47 per share, on $12.8 billion revenue.