Deere Beats Q2 Estimates, But Ag Weakness Weighs on Outlook

Summary

Deere & Co. NYSE: DE delivered a Q2 2026 earnings report that didn’t hide the ball. That transparency makes it easy to understand why DE dropped nearly 5% after the report’s release. The industrial giant posted a double-beat, including a 15% beat on adjusted earnings per share (EPS). But the company’s report showed that the heavy lifting (no pun intended) is being done by its Construction and Forestry business. Deere & Company TodayDEDeere & Company$530.84 -29.62 (-5.28%) As of 05/21/2026 03:59 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.52-Week Range$433.00▼$674.19Dividend Yield1.22%P/E Ratio29.92Price Target$652.23 That dovetails nicely with the blockbuster report from NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA that showed data center demand continues to grow and is likely to continue for several years. Get Deere & Company alerts:Sign Up But Deere's report also showed weakness in its Production and Precision Agriculture business. That’s been the golden goose for Deere, and for now it’s a little tarnished. Plus, while the construction demand is likely to be in play for several quarters, that isn’t likely to do a heavy lift on earnings. In fact, Deere reiterated its full-year earnings guidance. That suggests that any artificial intelligence (AI) tailwind will simply help earnings from deteriorating, rather than driving further growth. Farmers Continue to Face HeadwindsIt’s not easy being a farmer under good conditions. But the last few years have been particularly cruel to the industry. Inflation for farmers is about more than fuel. It’s fertilizer, seeds, and the elevated costs for heavy equipment like tractors and combines. All of these are on the rise, mostly due to the conflict with Iran that has brought traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill. That's why net sales in the Production and Precision Agriculture business were down 14% in the quarter, and Deere guided to a full-year loss between 5% and 10%. The company also forecasted a lower ...