The John Deere logo is displayed as attendees view a 5105M utility tractor at the Deere & Co. booth during the World Ag Expo at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, California on February 11, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
John Deere is warning that tariff costs for the agricultural machinery company could reach a total of $600 million for the fiscal 2025 year.
The company released its fiscal third-quarter earnings report Thursday, beating on the top and bottom lines but posting significant year-over-year decreases in net income and sales.
The stock sank roughly 7% in midday trading.
The company noted that operating profits for the quarter decreased primarily due to higher tariffs and production costs associated with it.
Deere’s Director of Investor Relations John Beal said on an earnings call with analysts Thursday that the company took a significant hit in the third quarter due to tariffs.
“Tariff costs in the quarter were approximately $200 million, which brings us to roughly $300 million in tariff expense year-to-date based on tariff rates in effect as of today,” Beal said. “Our forecast for the pre-tax impact of tariffs in fiscal 2025 is now adjusted to nearly $600 million.”
Here’s how the company performed in the fiscal third quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $4.75 per share vs. $4.63 expected
- Revenue: $10.36 billion vs. $10.31 billion
For the quarter ending July 24, Deere reported a net income of $1.29 billion, down 26% from $1.73 billion the year prior. The company’s total net sales of $12.02 billion took a 9% hit over the period, down from $13.15 billion.
Deere also trimmed the high end of its net income outlook for the fiscal year to $4.75 billion to $5.25 billion, compared with a prior estimate of $4.75 billion to $5.5 billion.
“We remain committed to delivering solutions that address our customers’ current needs while also laying the groundwork for future growth,” CEO John May said in the report. “The positive outcomes we’re enabling reinforce our confidence in Deere’s future despite near-term uncertainty.”
Oppenheimer analyst Kristen Owen said the company is taking an “appropriately cautiously optimistic outlook” given the broader economic environment.
“Really, a lot of the uncertainty is what does ’26 look like,” Owen said on CNBC’s “Money Movers.” “What does 2026 demand look like now that we’re in this environment where the commodities backdrop isn’t nearly as favorable as it was six months ago, and you have an awful lot of trade uncertainty?”
Deere also noted that the company is seeing green shoots of growing demand in Europe and South America.
Cory Reed, the president of Deere’s worldwide agriculture and turf division, said on the call that the company believes there are good things yet to come out of the economic struggles.
“We think there’s positive tailwinds from both what we see in the trade deals, and we think there are positive tailwinds from what we see in tax policy,” Reed said.
