Shares of Deere & Co. DE powered up 5.3% in premarket trading Friday, after the maker of agricultural, construction and forestry equipment reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations by wide margins and raised its net income outlook, with particular strength in its production and precision agriculture business. Net income for the quarter to April 30 rose to $2.86 billion, or $9.65 a share, from $2.10 billion, or $6.81 a share, in the year-ago period. That was well above the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of $8.58. Sales grew 30% to $17.39 billion, to beat the FactSet consensus of $14.89 billion, as production and precision agriculture sales jumped 53%, small agriculture and turf sales increased 16% and construction and forestry sales rose 23%. All three business segments delivered higher shipment volumes and higher prices. “As shown by the company’s outstanding second-quarter results, Deere continues to benefit from favorable market conditions and an improving operating environment,” said Chief Executive Officer John May. The company raised its full-year guidance range for net income to $9.25 billion to $9.50 billion from $8.75 billion to $9.25 billion. The stock has dropped 13.6% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 9.3%.
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