Amidst the economic doom and gloom, Deere & Co. reported a healthy crop of sales and profits this week, forecasting 2023 to be an even better year for America's largest seller of tractors and harvesters.
Nothing runs like a Deere
As the largest farm equipment company in the world, it’s almost guaranteed that something in your Thanksgiving feast yesterday was touched by a John Deere machine on its way from farm to table. With roots back to 1837, when a blacksmith named John Deere developed the first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow, Deere & Co. has grown into an industrial behemoth, selling nearly $50bn worth of equipment in its latest fiscal year, without much fanfare.
The company has moved on a fair bit from the original one-plow product range. These days you can buy a Deere tractor, lawnmower, harvester, tree-cutter, specialist golf-course mower and much, much more. Basically if it needs to be chopped, cut, mowed, sprayed or moved, John Deere has a machine to sell you.
As food prices have risen, demand for agricultural equipment has stayed strong and, with supply chain issues in the rear-view mirror, Deere seems able to pass cost rises onto its customers. This year, Deere shares are +25%, substantially outperforming the wider market.
