Agricultural machinery giant Deere & Company (DE.US) Soared in pre-market trading! Q1 performance exceeds expectations, raises full-year profit guidance.

Agricultural machinery giant Deere & Company (DE.US) announced better-than-expected performance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 and raised its full-year profit forecast. The financial report shows that Deere Q1 revenue increased by 13% year-on-year to $9.611 billion, exceeding analysts' consensus of $7.69 billion; net profit was $656 million, a 25% decrease from the same period last year's $869 million; diluted earnings per share were $2.42, lower than the $3.19 in the same period last year, but higher than the analysts' consensus of $2.06. Looking ahead, Deere expects full-year net profit for fiscal year 2026 to be between $4.5 billion and $5 billion, higher than the previous forecast of $4 billion to $4.75 billion, and also higher than analysts' consensus of $4.45 billion. Deere CEO John May said, "Despite ongoing challenges in the global large agricultural industry, we are encouraged by the continued recovery in the construction and small agriculture sectors. These positive developments make us even more confident that 2026 will be the bottom of the current cycle and lay a solid foundation for accelerated growth in the future." In contrast, Deere's competitor CNH Industrial NV took a more cautious stance earlier this week, stating that agricultural machinery sales may not start to recover until 2027, as growers continue to face pressure from low crop prices and relatively high costs of seeds, fertilizers, and machinery. For Deere, its largest production and precision agriculture sector - aimed at the world's largest farmers - still faces pressure, and the company reiterated its expectation for a 5% to 10% decrease in net sales this year. The company also raised its outlook for the small agriculture and lawn, as well as the construction and forestry sectors. Deere recently announced that it will recall nearly 100 employees previously laid off at two construction and forestry manufacturing plants in Iowa, and will transfer excavator production from Japan to a new $70 million factory in North Carolina. The company's Vice President of Construction and Forestry Manufacturing Operations stated in a statement last month, "With increasing demand, recalling employees helps ensure that we have a skilled team to support our construction and forestry operations production." As of the time of writing, Deere's stock rose nearly 6% in pre-market trading on Thursday.