Deere & Company reported second-quarter earning that were ahead of Wall Street expectations, and it raised its profit forecast.
The farming-equipment maker reported earnings of $2.49 a share, easily beating the $1.68 that was expected by the Bloomberg consensus. Revenue came in at $8.29 billion, topping the $7.27 billion that analysts were anticipating.
“John Deere reported strong results in the second quarter as market conditions showed signs of further stabilization,” chairman and CEO Samuel R. Allen said in the earnings release. “We are seeing modestly higher overall demand for our products, with farm machinery sales in South America experiencing a strong recovery.
In addition to beating on both the top and bottom lines, Deere raised its 2017 profit forecast. The company now expects sales to rise by 9% through October, up from its earlier estimate for an increase of about 4%. Deere sees net income of about $2 billion, up from its previous estimate of about $1.5 billion.
The strong results are more evidence Deere is seeing further stabilization in the industry. The company has been sounding the alarm on a "global farm recession" it says has weighed on results over the past several quarters.
In last quarter's release, Allen noted that the worst of that recession may be over.