(Bloomberg) — Deere & Co. jumped to a record after earnings beat the highest of analyst estimates, even as the world’s largest farm machinery maker trimmed its profit outlook for the year.
Net income dropped 22% from a year earlier to $6.64 a share in the three months ended in April, the company said in a statement. That was still above the $5.57 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net sales shrank 18%, also less than projected.
Deere shares jumped as much as 6.4% to $529.15. The stock has gained 24% so far this year as investors look for an upturn in the farm economy. Most observers expect the market to bottom out this year, with a rebound seen for 2026.
Tractors sales have been trending lower since a 2023 record as falling crop prices eroded farm income, leaving growers with less to spend on new equipment and causing inventories of machines to swell. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have also weighed on sales and added to costs.
Rival tractor makers CNH Industrial NV and AGCO Corp. earlier this month reported lower first-quarter sales, and warned of the potential of reduced demand for farmers.
Deere said net income will be between $4.75 billion and $5.5 billion. In February, the company said profits would be as low as $5 billion. The outlook range was widened in response to a “dynamic environment,” the company said, citing “heightened uncertainty.”
Still, the review implies a “less dire than feared tariff-impacted outlook,” Citigroup Global Markets Inc. analysts Kyle Menges and Randy Marker said in a note to clients.
—With assistance from Michael Hirtzer.