Deere Delivers Solid Results in Downturn

Here's our initial take on Deere & Co.'s (NYSE: DE) fiscal 2025 second-quarter financial results.

Key Metrics

Making the Most of a Not-Great Situation

The equipment and engine manufacturer's second quarter saw more double-digit sales declines, and as is typical for many cyclical businesses, it reported an even larger earnings decline. Yet some signs indicated the worst of this cyclical downturn could be behind it. While revenue was down 16% and earnings per share fell 22%, that was a moderation from the 30% and 49% respective declines in the first quarter, which was a deterioration from the fourth quarter of the prior year, when revenue fell 28% and earnings per share were down 45%.

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In profitability and cash flow terms, manufacturers typically see their margins shrink during periods of weak demand, and that's been the case for Deere. The good news is that gross margins are holding up, at 40.3% from 39.9% last year. Operating margin did fall 220 basis points (2.2 percentage points) to 18.1%, a relatively solid result considering the impact of lost revenue. In all, Deere was able to bring its costs and expenses down almost $1.7 billion in the quarter.

Immediate Market Reaction

Deere share prices were up around 2.3% in premarket trading today, a notable gain against a backdrop of broad market futures down about a half a percentage point. Deere's results, while worse than a year ago, show that trend of stabilization and came in ahead of expectations. Management's guidance across most of its segments is for revenue declines to stabilize and Deere to deliver strong full-year earnings and cash flow.

What to Watch

Deere is guiding for revenue to fall 15% to 20% in its production and precision ag segment, which is its largest, but for 10% to 15% declines in its other segments, which make up about 60% of total sales. This supports the likelihood that even with continued soft sales, the trend suggests it's at the bottom of the cycle and showing some signs of a recovery in growing demand within a few quarters.

Management also highlighted that the bulk of its sourcing of inputs for manufacturing is from the U.S., Europe, and Mexico, which, combined, make up 93% of complete goods and 92% of components for its products. For those with concerns about tariffs, this should soften the impact for sales in those end markets, but it's possible that the company could still face pressure in other markets it sells into, with retaliatory tariffs from those countries.

But in the long run, Deere is built to get through these environments profitably and emerge strong. We don't see any signs that has changed.

Helpful Resources

• Earnings press release and presentation
• Investor relations page

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Jason Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Deere & Company. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.