Deere Gets Rolling as AI Buildout Fuels Construction Sales Boom
Deere’s industry outlook forecasts large agriculture equipment volumes may fall 20% this year, while construction equipment demand grows.
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John Deere may be the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural equipment, but another business line is the real reason it’s plowing ahead.
The company reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings Thursday, with revenue climbing 6.2% year over year to $11 billion, and income rising 7% to $1.4 billion. Both figures came in ahead of Wall Street forecasts. The results showed Deere crushing a new field, as its construction business proved a beneficiary of the AI infrastructure boom. Shares in the company rose 6.94%.
Chatbots Need Dozers, Too
Goldman Sachs expects $1 trillion in AI spending this year, $800 billion of that by US hyperscalers. To make it happen, the world is gonna need a lot of dump trucks, backhoes, bulldozers and excavators, of which Deere has plenty.
Its earnings are a testament to how the company is already cashing in. Deere’s construction and forestry sales rose 18% to $3.6 billion. Investor Relations Director Chris Seibert said on an analyst call that “customer backlogs now extend well into fiscal year 2027.” The AI boom could not have come at a more welcome time, as it offsets a cyclical downturn in Deere’s biggest and most famous business line:
- Sales at Deere’s largest unit, its agriculture division, fell 6.4% year over year in the quarter to $4 billion. Executives said the explanation is simple: Deere booked fewer shipments.
- Farm incomes have tumbled from record highs in 2022, forcing farmers to cut back on capital spending and creating a lull in demand for Deere tractors and harvesters. The war in Iran, which has sent diesel fuel and fertilizer prices soaring this year, has added even more stress to farm budgets.
Time for a Reset: Deere’s full-year industry outlook forecasts large agriculture equipment volumes will fall 15% to 20% this year in the US and Canada, while construction equipment volumes will rise 5% to 10%. Deere CEO John May said the company thinks 2026 will be the end of the current downcycle in agriculture equipment, saying the manufacturer is “well positioned for long-term value creation.”
