Deere & Co. 10-Q 2024-07-28

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended July 28, 2024

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____ to ____

Commission file no: 1-4121

DEERE & COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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One John Deere Place

Moline**,** Illinois 61265

(Address of principal executive offices)

Telephone Number: (309) 765-8000

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Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ☐ No ☒

At July 28, 2024, 273,599,818 shares of common stock, $1 par value, of the registrant were outstanding.

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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See Condensed Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

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See Condensed Notes to Interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

All amounts are presented in millions of dollars unless otherwise specified.

Overview

Organization

Deere & Company is a global leader in the production of agricultural, turf, construction, and forestry equipment and solutions. John Deere Financial provides financing for John Deere equipment, parts, services, and other input costs customers need to run their operations. Our operations are managed through the production and precision agriculture (PPA), small agriculture and turf (SAT), construction and forestry (CF), and financial services operating segments. References to “equipment operations” include PPA, SAT, and CF, while references to “agriculture and turf” include both PPA and SAT.

Smart Industrial Operating Model and Leap Ambitions

We announced the Smart Industrial Operating Model in 2020. This operating model is based on three focus areas:

Our Leap Ambitions were launched in 2022. These ambitions are designed to boost economic value and sustainability for our customers. The ambitions align across our customers’ production systems seeking to optimize their operations to deliver better outcomes with fewer resources.

Trends and Economic Conditions

Industry Sales Outlook for Fiscal Year 2024

Agriculture and Turf

Construction and Forestry

Company Trends

Customers seek to improve profitability, productivity, and sustainability through technology. Integration of technology into equipment is a persistent market trend. Our Smart Industrial Operating Model and Leap Ambitions are intended to capitalize on this market trend. These technologies are incorporated into products within each of our operating segments. We expect this trend to persist for the foreseeable future. Our progress is demonstrated, in part, by the growing use of the John Deere Operations Center (our digital operations management system) engaging more agricultural acres globally. Engaged acres give us a foundational understanding of customer utilization of John Deere technology. The investments in these technologies and establishing a Solutions as a Service business model may increase our operating costs and decrease operating margins during the transition period.

Company Outlook for 2024

Production volumes are expected to continue to decline during the remainder of 2024 due to reduced demand amid challenges in the global agricultural and turf sectors and construction industry coupled with inventory management through planned underproduction to retail demand.

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Agriculture and Turf Outlook for 2024

Construction and Forestry Outlook for 2024

Financial Services Outlook for 2024

Additional Trends

Agricultural Market Business Cycle. The agricultural market is affected by various factors including commodity prices, acreage planted, crop yields, and government policies. These factors affect farmers’ income and may result in lower demand for equipment. We may experience any of the following effects during unfavorable market conditions: lower net sales, higher sales discounts, higher receivable write-offs, and losses on equipment on operating leases.

In the third quarter of 2024, we implemented employee-separation programs for our salaried workforce to help meet our strategic priorities while reducing overlap and redundancy in roles and responsibilities. The programs’ total pretax expenses are estimated to be approximately $150, of which $124 was recorded in the third quarter of 2024. Annual pretax savings from these programs are estimated to be approximately $230, with $100 estimated to be realized in 2024 (See Note 21).

Interest Rates. Central bank policy interest rates increased in 2023 and have remained elevated. Increased rates impacted us in several ways, primarily affecting the demand for our products and financing spreads for the financial services operations.

The markets for our agriculture, turf, and construction products were negatively impacted by elevated interest rates and their effect on borrowing costs for our customers.

Most retail customer receivables are fixed rate. Wholesale financing receivables generally are variable rate. Both types of receivables are financed with fixed and floating rate borrowings. We manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations by matching our receivables with our funding sources. We also enter into interest rate swap agreements to match our interest rate exposure.

Rising interest ra

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See our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K (Part II, Item 7A). There have been no material changes in this information.

Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) were effective as of July 28, 2024, based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) of the Exchange Act. During the third quarter of 2024, there were no changes that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.Legal Proceedings

We are subject to various unresolved legal actions, the most prevalent of which relate to product liability (including asbestos-related liability), retail credit, employment, patent, trademark, and antitrust matters. We believe the reasonably possible range of losses for these unresolved legal actions would not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

See our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K (Part I, Item 1A). The risks described in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the “Forward-Looking Statements” in this report, are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties may also materially affect our business, financial condition, or operating results. One should not consider the risk factors to be a complete discussion of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions.

Item 2.Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Purchases of our common stock during the third quarter of 2024 were as follows:

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Item 3.Defaults Upon Senior Securities

None.

Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

None.

Certain instruments relating to long-term borrowings constituting less than 10 percent of the registrant’s total assets are not filed as exhibits herewith pursuant to Item 601(b)(4)(iii)(A) of Regulation S-K. The registrant will furnish copies of such instruments to the Commission upon request of the Commission.

* Incorporated by reference.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

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