Deere & Company (DE): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at Deere & Company (DE), are you seeing just the iconic green tractor manufacturer, or the $129.55 billion market cap technology leader driving the future of agriculture? Despite a challenging environment that saw fiscal year 2025 net income guidance narrowed to a range of $4.75 billion to $5.25 billion, the company is aggressively pivoting its business model to precision agriculture, where its advanced See & Spray technology is becoming a key revenue driver. This shift is critical, considering the Q3 2025 worldwide net sales and revenues declined 9% to $12.018 billion, so how exactly does this 188-year-old giant operate and continue to make money in a cyclical, tariff-heavy market now facing nearly $600 million in full-year tariff costs?

Deere & Company (DE) History

You're looking for the foundation of a company that has been shaping the American landscape for nearly two centuries, and the story of Deere & Company starts with a simple, yet revolutionary, piece of steel. The direct takeaway is that the company's sustained success comes from its initial innovation-the self-scouring steel plow-and its continuous, strategic pivot into high-tech precision agriculture, which is now navigating a challenging 2025 market with a net income forecast of up to $5.50 billion.

Deere & Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The business began in 1837, the year John Deere fashioned his first successful steel plow.

Original location

The first shop was in Grand Detour, Illinois, where John Deere worked as a blacksmith after moving from Vermont.

Founding team members

The sole founder was John Deere, a blacksmith and inventor. He later took on partners like Leonard Andrus, and then Robert Tate and John Gould, but the original innovation and business was his.

Initial capital/funding

Specific initial capital isn't recorded, but the initial investment was John Deere's skill and the material for his first product: a broken steel saw blade he used to forge the first self-scouring plow. He opened a blacksmith shop that was 1,378 square feet. That's a lean startup, defintely.

Deere & Company's Evolution Milestones

Deere & Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory is marked by a few key decisions that fundamentally changed its business model, moving it from a regional blacksmith to a global industrial power.

• The Steel Plow Innovation (1837): John Deere's decision to use a polished steel saw blade for his plow wasn't just a material change; it was a product-market fit breakthrough for the heavy, sticky Midwestern soil that other plows couldn't handle. This single invention created the market the company would dominate.
• Strategic Relocation and Mass Production (1848): Moving the operation to Moline, Illinois, along the Mississippi River, was a logistics masterstroke. It provided access to water power for the factory and cheap river transport for raw materials and finished goods, allowing production to quickly ramp up to over 200 plows a month by 1849.
• The Tractor Bet (1918): Buying the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company was a major capital commitment-$2.25 million-that instantly made Deere & Company a player in the self-propelled machinery market, which was the future of farming. This move defined the company's core business for the next century.
• The Smart Industrial Model (Post-2017): The shift to a 'Smart Industrial Operating Model' has been the most recent transformation, focusing on technology, data, and automation. This includes a plan to invest $20 billion in the U.S. over the next decade to develop new products and advanced manufacturing systems. The goal is to make the equipment a precision data-gathering tool.

This long-term focus on technology is crucial, especially as the company navigates the near-term headwinds that saw its worldwide net sales and revenues decrease by 22% in the first half of fiscal year 2025. You can get a deeper look at who is betting on this future in Exploring Deere & Company (DE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Deere & Company (DE) Ownership Structure

Deere & Company is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DE), meaning its shares are available for purchase by any investor. The company's control is highly dispersed, dominated by large institutional investors who hold the majority of the common stock.

Deere & Company's Current Status

Deere & Company is a publicly held corporation, listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol DE, and is a component of both the S&P 100 and S&P 500 indices. This public status subjects the company to rigorous reporting and governance standards set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The stock price as of November 14, 2025, was approximately $476.23 per share. The total outstanding shares are approximately 270.33 million.

Deere & Company's Ownership Breakdown

As is typical for a major S&P 500 company, institutional investors-like Vanguard, BlackRock, Inc., and State Street Corp-control the vast majority of the shares. This means the strategic direction is heavily influenced by the fiduciary interests of these large asset managers. Insider ownership, held by executives and directors, is minimal. Here's the quick math on the approximate ownership breakdown as of the 2025 fiscal year data:

Deere & Company's Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned management team focused on advancing its Smart Industrial Strategy, which emphasizes connected machines and technology solutions. Key leadership appointments, including changes effective November 3, 2025, reflect a focus on global market segments and supply chain efficiency. This team is responsible for executing the strategy that drives the company's financial performance and innovation pipeline.

• John C. May: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• Joshua A. Jepsen: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Jahmy J. Hindman: Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
• Deanna M. Kovar: President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division: Production and Precision Ag, and Americas and Australia
• Justin R. Rose: President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division: Small Agriculture and Turf Care, Europe, Africa, and Asia
• Cory Reed: President, Lifecycle Solutions, Supply Management, and Customer Success
• Ryan D. Campbell: President, Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division and Power Systems

You need to defintely understand this structure because who owns the company dictates who benefits from its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Deere & Company (DE).

Deere & Company (DE) Mission and Values

Deere & Company's purpose goes far beyond selling green and yellow equipment; it's about enabling progress-the idea that they run so life can leap forward. This deep-seated commitment to customers and the land is built on a foundation of four core values: Integrity, Quality, Commitment, and Innovation.

Deere & Company's Core Purpose

When you look at a company like Deere & Company, which has been around since 1837, you're looking at a business whose cultural DNA is tied directly to essential human endeavors: agriculture and construction. Their mission and vision, particularly as they pivot to a Smart Industrial strategy, are their compass.

Official mission statement

The mission statement is deceptively simple and powerful: We run so life can leap forward. It positions the company as a catalyst for global progress, not just a manufacturer. This isn't just a feel-good phrase; it drives serious capital allocation.

• Driving Innovation: The core value of Innovation is backed by substantial investment, with the company allocating $2.437 billion to Research and Development in fiscal year 2024.
• Empowering Progress: This focus on technology, like precision agriculture, is why high-margin recurring revenue streams saw a 35% year-over-year growth in the first quarter of 2025.

Honestly, their purpose is to be an indispensable partner to the people who cultivate the land and build the world. If you want to see how this translates to their bottom line, you should check out Breaking Down Deere & Company (DE) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Vision statement

The vision statement maps out their future role in the ecosystem, shifting from an equipment supplier to a technology and services partner. They want to be defintely essential.

• Be the essential partner for customers.
• Serve those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich, and build upon the land for a better world.

This vision is why they've connected over 500,000 machines to their data-driven solutions, making them integral to modern land management. It's a clear roadmap for their long-term growth and market dominance.

Deere & Company slogan/tagline

Their most famous and enduring slogan captures the brand's promise of durability and performance, which is a direct reflection of their Quality and Commitment core values.

• Nothing runs like a Deere.

This tagline has been cemented in the consumer consciousness for decades, and it's a simple, powerful statement about the reliability customers expect. It's what you get when Integrity and Quality are non-negotiable, a standard that helped the company earn the 2025 World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition. Even with a Q3 2025 net income of $1.289 billion, the focus remains on the foundational values that generate that value.

Deere & Company (DE) How It Works

Deere & Company is no longer just a heavy equipment manufacturer; it's a technology company that builds intelligent, connected machines to optimize the entire production system for agriculture and construction customers, effectively turning iron into a data-driven service.

The company generates revenue primarily by selling this equipment, but its future value is increasingly tied to recurring software and service revenue from its precision agriculture platform, which is a significant shift from the old model.

Deere & Company's Product/Service Portfolio

You need to understand the business in three main buckets: the big farm equipment, the smaller home and commercial gear, and the financial engine that funds it all. Here's a breakdown of the core offerings as of late 2025, focusing on the high-value technology integration.

Deere & Company's Operational Framework

The entire operation is guided by the Smart Industrial Operating Model, which is designed to connect machines, technology, and customers in a seamless ecosystem. This isn't just a mission statement; it dictates capital allocation and R&D spending.

The model focuses on three things: delivering intelligent, connected machines; creating a world-class lifecycle experience for customers; and optimizing the manufacturing footprint for efficiency. We're seeing this play out in real time with production cuts to proactively manage inventory levels in a challenging market.

• Integrated Technology Stack: Every new piece of large equipment is a mobile data center, connected to the John Deere Operations Center (a cloud-based farm management platform). This allows for remote diagnostics, over-the-air software updates, and data-driven decision-making.
• Lifecycle Solutions: The company is shifting from a one-time equipment sale to a recurring revenue model by offering performance upgrades, parts, and services throughout the machine's life. This is where the higher-margin software and data services come in.
• Proactive Inventory Management: In fiscal 2025, management has been actively matching production to retail demand, a disciplined move to address high levels of used equipment in the industry and stabilize the market.

Here's the quick math: The push for recurring software revenue, like the JDLink Boost connectivity solution, is intended to lift future net margins above the traditional equipment-only sales. If you want to dive deeper into who's betting on this strategy, you can check out Exploring Deere & Company (DE) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Deere & Company's Strategic Advantages

Deere & Company's competitive edge is built on a few hard-to-replicate assets that create a significant economic moat (a structural business feature protecting long-term profits). They've spent decades building this, so it won't disappear overnight.

• Precision Ag Dominance: The company holds an unparalleled lead in precision agriculture technology. Systems like See & Spray deliver tangible value to farmers by reducing input costs, which is a powerful incentive for adoption even when farm incomes are under pressure.
• Dealer Network Strength: With approximately 3,700 global dealer locations, including over 2,000 in North America, the company provides unmatched accessibility for sales, parts, and service. This extensive network creates a high barrier to entry for competitors.
• Financial Services Synergy: The John Deere Capital Corporation acts as a strategic asset, providing financing that directly supports equipment sales. This captive finance arm contributed to the consolidated net income and strengthens customer relationships, especially in a tight credit environment.
• Brand Equity and Trust: The iconic green and yellow brand is synonymous with quality and reliability, fostering deep customer loyalty that spans generations. This trust is defintely crucial when selling high-cost, technology-intensive machinery.

The company is forecasting fiscal 2025 net income to land between $4.75 billion and $5.25 billion, a range that reflects resilience despite the cyclical downturn in equipment sales, largely due to the strength of these underlying strategic advantages.

Deere & Company (DE) How It Makes Money

Deere & Company primarily makes money by manufacturing and selling large, technologically advanced agricultural and construction machinery, but a significant portion of its profit comes from the financing and leasing of that equipment to its customers.

The business model is a powerful two-part engine: selling the physical, high-margin machinery and then generating recurring revenue from the financial services (financing, leasing, insurance) and aftermarket parts/technology subscriptions (like precision agriculture software) that keep those machines running and productive for farmers and construction crews.

Deere & Company's Revenue Breakdown

As we look at the fiscal year 2025 data, the revenue mix shows the company's reliance on its core equipment business, despite a projected cyclical downturn in sales volume. The total revenue for the trailing twelve months ending July 27, 2025, was approximately $44.43 billion.

The Agriculture & Turf segment, which includes both large Production & Precision Ag (PPA) equipment and smaller Small Ag & Turf (SAT) products, remains the largest revenue driver at roughly 59% of the total. However, the full-year sales for PPA are forecasted to be down 15% to 20%, and SAT sales are expected to be down around 10%, reflecting farmer caution due to lower commodity prices.

To be fair, the Financial Services segment, while only about 14% of total revenue, is a critical profit stabilizer, with its net income actually rising in the first quarter of 2025. It's a classic example of a captive finance arm smoothing out the cyclicality of heavy equipment sales.

Business Economics

Deere & Company's financial health hinges on two major economic fundamentals: global farm income and the construction cycle. When commodity prices like corn and soybeans are high, farmers have more cash for capital expenditures (CapEx), driving demand for new, high-tech tractors and combines. That's the core driver.

• Pricing Power: The company still maintains some price realization-meaning they can raise prices-even in a down cycle. For fiscal year 2025, the Production & Precision Ag segment is expected to see roughly 1 point of positive price realization, and Small Ag & Turf about 0.5 point.
• Technology as a Moat: The real long-term value is in the precision agriculture (Ag) technology. Features like See & Spray and Harvest Settings Automation allow customers to improve productivity and save on inputs, which justifies the premium pricing even when farm margins are tight.
• Currency Headwinds: A stronger US Dollar (USD) is a headwind. For PPA, the positive price realization is largely offset by a projected 2.5 points of negative currency impact, particularly from the Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, and Euro.
• Inventory Management: The company has been proactively managing inventory by matching production to retail demand, a smart move that helps prevent the need for heavy discounting later on.

The Construction & Forestry segment is more sensitive to non-residential construction and housing starts, plus global infrastructure spending. Its pricing is actually forecasted to be slightly negative, down about 1 point for the full year, a clear sign of a more competitive, slowing market.

Deere & Company's Financial Performance

The most important takeaway for fiscal year 2025 is the expected contraction from the record highs of 2023, but the numbers still show a defintely healthy, profitable business. This is a cyclical business, and management is guiding for a soft landing, not a crash.

• Net Income Forecast: Net income attributable to Deere & Company for the full fiscal year 2025 is forecasted to be in a range of $4.75 billion to $5.25 billion. This is a significant decline from the prior year but remains a robust profit level.
• Operating Cash Flow: Cash flow from equipment operations is projected to be between $4.5 billion and $5.5 billion for the fiscal year. This strong cash generation is what allows the company to fund its technology investments and return capital to shareholders.
• Segment Profitability: The Production & Precision Ag segment is expected to maintain a strong operating margin between 16% and 17% for the year, while Small Ag & Turf is guided for 13% to 14%. This shows the PPA segment, with its large equipment and embedded technology, is still the superior margin generator.
• Liquidity Indicators: The company maintains a solid balance sheet, with a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.09, indicating strong liquidity to cover near-term obligations. This is crucial when navigating a sales downturn.

If you want to dive deeper into the metrics that underpin this performance, you should read Breaking Down Deere & Company (DE) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. Finance: track the PPA operating margin against the 16% low-end guidance quarterly.

Deere & Company (DE) Market Position & Future Outlook

Deere & Company remains the dominant global force in agricultural equipment, but its near-term outlook for fiscal year 2025 is marked by cyclical headwinds, with net income projected between $4.75 billion and $5.5 billion. The company is strategically doubling down on its Smart Industrial strategy, focusing on precision technology and autonomy to drive long-term value, even as North American large agricultural equipment sales are forecast to decline by approximately 30%.

Competitive Landscape

In the US market, Deere & Company holds a clear leadership position, particularly in high-horsepower equipment, though it faces strong global competition from diversified industrial giants and regional specialists.

Here's the quick math: Deere & Company commands roughly 40% of the US agricultural equipment market, including a 60% share of combines, which solidifies its position as the clear market leader. CNH Industrial, which includes Case IH and New Holland, is the next largest competitor, and together these two companies hold over 45% of the US tractor market. This duopoly in large equipment means market share gains are defintely hard-fought.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic focus is a hedge against the current cyclical downturn, mapping future growth to technology adoption rather than just unit volume. The Financial Services division, for instance, is a bright spot, with net income expected to be approximately $770 million in FY2025. You can dive deeper into the financial mechanics of this resilience in Breaking Down Deere & Company (DE) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Industry Position

Deere & Company's industry standing is defined by its technological leadership and brand equity, which allows it to maintain premium pricing even during a market trough. The company is actively executing its Smart Industrial Operating Model, which is essentially a vertical integration strategy for technology (precision agriculture, or 'precision ag').

• Lead the shift toward autonomy: Unveiling new autonomous machines like the 9RX Tractor and 460 P-Tier Autonomous Articulated Dump Truck at CES 2025 signals a commitment to labor-saving, high-efficiency solutions.
• Prioritize R&D investment: Continued spending on advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop proprietary technology stacks, giving them an edge over competitors who rely more on third-party solutions.
• Focus on operational efficiency: Investments of over $100 million in advanced equipment and robotics for US facilities, like the Harvester Works renovation, aim to improve production quality and lower long-term manufacturing costs.

The business is safe from existential threats, but the near-term is about managing the cycle and proving the value of precision ag subscriptions to a cautious customer base. The stock's performance has held up well despite the projected 30% drop in US agricultural equipment demand in 2025, which tells you investors believe in the long-term tech story.