Shares of Deere & Co. fell 1.8% toward a three-month low in premarket trading Friday, even after the agriculture, construction and forestry equipment maker reported fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue that rose above expectations, as “strong demand” helped offset supply-chain pressures. Net income increased to $2.10 billion, or $6.81 a share, from $1.79 billion, or $5.68 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $6.69. Sales grew 10.9% to $13.37 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $13.23 billion. Cost of sales rose 12.5% to $8.92 billion, as gross margin contracted to 33.3% from 34.3%. Production & Precision Agriculture sales rose 13% to $5.1 billion, Small Agriculture & Turf sales increased 5% to $3.6 billion and Construction & Forestry sales rose 9% to $3.45 billion. The company affirmed the sales growth outlook for fiscal 2022. Deere’s stock has gained 6.3% year to date through Thursday while the S&P 500 has shed 18.2%.
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