Deere’s stock falls as quarterly earnings fall less than forecast the but the full-year outlook misses

Shares of Deere & Co.
DE,
+1.45%
dropped 3.1% toward a two-month low in premarket trading Thursday, after the agricultural, construction and turf equipment maker reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that were well above expectations but provided a downbeat full-year outlook, with industry and segment sales expected to keep falling. Net income for the quarter to Jan. 28 declined to $1.75 billion, or $6.23 a share, from $1.96 billion, or $6.55 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $5.26. Total revenue slipped 3.7% to $12.19 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $11.48 billion. Among Deere’s business segments, production and precision agriculture sales fell 7%, small agriculture and turf sales tumbled 19% and construction and forestry sales declined 9%. For 2024, the agriculture and turf industry is expected to decline 10% to 15% in the U.S. and Canada while the construction and forestry industry is expected to be flat to down 5%. The company expects fiscal 2024 net income of $7.50 to $7.75 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $8.03 billion. Deere’s stock has gained 1% over the past three months through Wednesday while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.96%
has rallied 11.1%.