Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) climbed 4.5% in premarket trading Thursday after the farm equipment maker delivered first-quarter results well ahead of expectations and lifted its earnings outlook for the year.
For the quarter, Deere posted net income of $656 million, or $2.42 per share, topping analyst forecasts of $2.02 per share. Revenue jumped 13% year over year to $9.61 billion, comfortably above the $7.59 billion consensus estimate. Despite the revenue strength, net income was down 25% from the $869 million, or $3.19 per share, recorded in the same period last year.
“While the global large agriculture industry continues to experience challenges, we’re encouraged by the ongoing recovery in demand within both the construction and small agriculture segments,” said John May, chairman and CEO of John Deere. “These positive developments reinforce our belief that 2026 represents the bottom of the current cycle and provides us with a strong foundation for accelerated growth going forward.”
The company increased its fiscal 2026 net income projection to between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion.
Performance was especially strong in the Small Agriculture & Turf division, where sales rose 24% to $2.17 billion and operating profit surged 58% to $196 million. The Construction & Forestry unit also delivered solid growth, with revenue climbing 34% to $2.67 billion and operating income more than doubling to $137 million.
Looking ahead, Deere anticipates Small Agriculture & Turf sales will grow around 15% in fiscal 2026, with Construction & Forestry revenue expected to increase by a similar percentage. However, the company projects a 5% to 10% decline in Production & Precision Agriculture sales, reflecting ongoing softness in the large-scale farming sector.