A look at how the new year has started for John Deere is due out Friday. The maker of farm, construction, and forestry equipment based in Moline will announce its first quarter earnings.
One year ago, quarterly profits added up to $1.81 per share, but predictions for this year are far below that. CNN Money, Yahoo Finance, and Nasdaq.com all report the consensus forecast by analysts is $0.83 per share, with low estimates at $0.62, and the more optimistic forecasts as high as $0.95.
Deere projected farm equipment sales would drop 21% in the first quarter due to lower farm income resulting from falling crop prices. But at least some of that should be offset by rising sales in the construction and forestry division.
Last year, farm and turf equipment accounted for nearly three-quarters of company revenue and sales.