Why is Deere Co (DE) Stock down?
Deere & Co. (DE) stock declined by 5.23% due to a disappointing full year 2024 outlook, despite exceeding Q4 earnings expectations. Here are the key details about the company's outlook:
- Disappointing 2024 Outlook: Deere forecasted a net income range of $7.5 billion to $7.75 billion for the year 2024, falling short of the average estimate of $7.83 billion among Wall Street analysts. Chairman and CEO John C. May cited expectations for moderated fleet replenishment as agricultural fundamentals normalize from the record levels seen in 2022 and 2023.
- Mixed Performance Across Segments: Deere's business segments showed varied performance, with production and precision agriculture sales declining by 7%, small agriculture and turf sales slumping by 19%, and construction and forestry sales falling by 9%. Despite beating the average estimate for Q1 earnings, the company reported a decline in net income to $1.75 billion, or $6.23 a share, from $1.96 billion, or $6.55 a share, in the previous year.
- Industry Forecast for 2024: In 2024, the agriculture and turf industry in the United States and Canada is expected to decline by 10% to 15%, while the construction and forestry industry is forecasted to be flat to down by 5%.
Shares of Deere & Co. (DE) dropped by 3.11% from $382.65 to $370.76 in the trading on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. The reason why DE is down today is due to a combination of factors related to the company's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and future outlook. Deere reported fiscal Q4 earnings of $8.26 per share, surpassing Wall Street's expectations of $7.46 per share. While this may seem positive, the company's management projected net income for fiscal 2024 to be in the range of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion, signifying a substantial decline from the nearly $10.2 billion earned in fiscal 2023. This projection of lower future earnings likely influenced investor sentiment, contributing to the stock's decline on the specified trading day.