Deere and Company set a record for third quarter earnings on a per share basis. This morning, Deere reported it made $910 million from May through July, or $2.79 per share compared to $1.97 for the same period last year. Without a gain from the new, federal tax law, earnings per share would have been 20 cents lower.
Spokesman Ken Golden says customers have started buying Deere equipment again. Compared to the third quarter of last year, worldwide sales of Deere equipment rose 36 percent to $9.3 billion, with agriculture and turf sales up 18%, and construction and forestry sales soaring 100%.
Golden says last year's acquistion of Wirtgen was a significant factor in the gain in construction and forestry.
He also says new tariffs have caused tensions to rise, but Deere has been monitoring the situation and believes customers are confident in their investment.
Deere and Company now predicts income of $2.36 billion for the full year, a slight increase compared to its second quarter forecast ($2.3 billion).
