Deere & Company (DE) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter that easily beat the consensus forecast. It also issued positive guidance for fiscal 2021, sending its shares up more than 3 percent in the pre-market trading Wednesday.
The agriculture, lawn care, and construction equipment maker reported earnings of $757 million, or $2.39 per share for the three months ended November 1, as compared to $2.27 per share in the same period of 2019. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting Deere to report earnings of $1.49 per share.
Revenue for the quarter slipped 1.7 percent to $9.73 billion, though came above the consensus forecast of $8.59 billion.
Speaking on the results, Deere CEO John May said in a statement "John Deere delivered another quarter of strong performance and a solid year despite the challenges associated with managing the pandemic."
Revenue from the agriculture and turf segment increased 8 percent on a year-over-year basis to reach $6.20 billion, higher than the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Comparatively, revenue from the construction and forestry segment fell 16 percent to $2.46 billion, as compared to analysts’ average estimate of $1.99 billion.
Deere expects farm economy conditions to improve in the coming quarters. Looking forward, the company expects earnings in the range of $3.6 billion to $4.0 billion for the next fiscal year.
Deere (NYSE: DE) hit a new 52-week high of $265.87 just after the opening bell on Wednesday. The stock has performed well if we look at its share price movement in recent months. Overall, its share price has jumped nearly 51 percent on a year-to-date basis, about +87 percent over the past 6 months, and nearly 28 percent during the last 3 months. The company’s market cap is around $83.054 billion, while its P/E ratio stands at 30.90.
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