Deere (DE) Q3 Earnings & Revenues Beat, '23 View Raised
Deere & Company DE reported third-quarter fiscal 2023 (ended Jul 30) earnings of $10.20 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of $8.14 per share. The bottom line increased 66% from the prior-year quarter’s levels. Strong demand aided by favorable market conditions, price realization and easing supply-chain constraints contributed to the improvement in the bottom line.
Net sales of equipment operations (comprising Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry) were $14,284 million, up 10% year over year. Revenues topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14,234 million. Total net sales (including financial services and others) were $15,801 million, up 12% year over year.
Operational Update
The cost of sales in the reported quarter was up 1% year over year to $9,624 million. Total gross profit increased 35% year over year to $6,177 million. Selling, administrative and general expenses (SA&G) rose 16% to $1,110 million from the prior-year period’s levels.
Deere & Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Deere & Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Deere & Company Quote
Total operating profit (including financial services) was up 5.5% year over year to $12,195 million in the fiscal third quarter.
Segment Performance
The Production & Precision Agriculture segment’s sales rose 12% year over year to $6,806 million. The figure was higher than our model estimate of revenues of $6,713 million for the quarter.
Operating profit increased 38% year over year to $1,782 million due to price realization and improved shipment volumes / sales mix. Higher production costs, SA&G and research and development (R&D) expenses, and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange offset some of the gains. Our estimate for the segment’s operating profit was $1,461 million.
Small Agriculture & Turf sales rose 3% to $3,739 million from the year-earlier quarter’s levels. Segmental sales benefited from price realization, which offset the impact of low shipment volumes. Our projection for the segment’s sales was $3,671 million. Operating profit rose 33% year over year to $732 million. The impact of higher sales was offset by elevated production costs, SA&G and R&D expenses. The figure was higher than operating profit of $399 million projected for the segment.
Construction & Forestry sales were $3,739 million, up 14% year over year, backed by higher shipment volumes and price realization. The figure was higher than our projection of $3,613 million. Operating profit increased 39% year over year to $716 million. Gains from higher sales were partially offset by increased SA&G and R&D expenses, higher production costs, and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange. Our estimate for the segment’s operating profit was $569 million.
The increase in production costs and SA&G and R&D expenses reported by Deere were lower than we had expected, leading to the variance in operating profit numbers for all the segments.
Revenues in Deere’s Financial Services division were $1,228 million in the reported quarter, up 36% year over year. The segment’s net income was $216 million in the quarter under review, up 3% from $209 million in the last year’s quarter.
Financial Update
Deere reported cash and cash equivalents of $6,576 million at the end of third-quarter fiscal 2023, compared with $4,359 million recorded at the year-ago quarter’s end.
Cash flow from operating activities was $2,896 million in the first nine-month period of fiscal 2023, compared with $418 million in the prior-year period.
At the end of the quarter, DE’s long-term borrowing was nearly $38 billion, compared with $32 billion at the year-ago quarter’s end.
Guidance
Deere expects net income for fiscal 2023 to be between $9.75 billion and $10 billion, up from the previously disclosed guidance of $9.25-$9.50 billion. Favorable farm fundamentals and increased investment in infrastructure will drive demand for DE’s equipment.
Net sales for Production & Precision Agriculture are expected to register growth of approximately 20% in fiscal 2023 from the prior-year quarter’s reported level. Sales of Small Agriculture & Turf are expected to be up around 5%. Sales of Construction & Forestry are projected to be up 15-20%. The Financial Services segment’s net income is expected to be around $630 million.
Price Performance
Deere’s shares have gained 13.9% in the past year, compared with the industry’s 11.7% growth.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Deere currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are Worthington Industries, Inc. WOR, Astec Industries, Inc. ASTE and Terex Corporation TEX. WOR and ASTE sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, and TEX has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Worthington Industries has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14.9%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WOR’s fiscal 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.65 per share. The consensus estimate for 2023 earnings has moved 22.6% north in the past 60 days. Its shares have gained 43.4% in the last year.
Astec has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASTE’s 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.81 per share. The consensus estimate for 2023 earnings has moved 4% north in the past 60 days. ASTE’s shares have gained 27.8% in the last year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Terex’s 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $1.61. Estimates were unchanged in the last 60 days. It has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 27.1%. TEX has gained 84.7% in the last year.
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