New York, Feb 19, 2026, 17:35 ET — After-hours
- Deere jumped roughly 10% after the company topped quarterly estimates and boosted its full-year profit outlook.
- Deere now sees fiscal 2026 net income coming in between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion, citing signs of improving demand in both construction and small ag markets.
- Tariff-driven costs remain a concern for investors, who now look ahead to Deere’s upcoming update on May 21.
Deere & Company jumped close to 10%, trading around $662 in Thursday’s after-hours session, after delivering stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raising its full-year profit guidance. Earlier in the day, shares moved between $590.84 and $674.09.
Deere reported a drop in first-quarter net income, down to $656 million, or $2.42 per share. Still, global net sales and revenues increased 13% to $9.611 billion for the quarter through Feb. 1. The company bumped up its fiscal 2026 net income outlook to a range of $4.5 billion to $5.0 billion. “These positive developments reinforce our belief that 2026 represents the bottom of the current cycle,” said CEO John May. PR Newswire
Deere’s beat-and-raise stood out as the company navigated a slowdown that’s kept farmers on the sidelines for new equipment, forcing Deere to pull back on factory runs and push dealers to clear out inventory. But inventories ended the quarter “relatively lean,” Oppenheimer’s Kristen Owen noted, suggesting there’s potential upside if stocks bounce back later this year. Deere bumped up its 2026 net sales projections for both Small Agriculture & Turf and Construction & Forestry divisions to about 15% growth, up from around 10%, according to Reuters.
Traders are now watching Friday’s regular session for signs of momentum, with broader risk appetite and any last-minute tweaks to guidance models still able to sway the tape. Deere’s surge is again raising questions about just how far investors will go on price for an industrial tied to both farm income and construction demand.
Deere filed with the SEC on Thursday, announcing its first-quarter press release and providing a presentation for its earnings call.
Management kept its forecast for pre-tax tariff costs at roughly $1.2 billion for fiscal 2026, sticking to that figure on the earnings call. The company also emphasized a focus on cost control and hitting operational targets. “Across all three business units, we executed ahead of our plan for the quarter,” CFO Josh Jepsen told analysts, but flagged the “dynamic” environment as a continuing challenge. The Motley Fool
Still, those tailwinds that sent shares up can just as easily turn the other way. Persistent weakness in crop prices, or a bump in costs from tariffs and supply-chain snags, could squeeze Deere’s margins and slow down dealer restocking.
Investors are focused on two things right now: gauging if construction demand is actually picking up, and figuring out if the big agriculture market has steadied enough to kick off a wider replacement cycle before year-end.
Deere’s fiscal Q2 earnings call lands on May 21, marking the next scheduled catalyst.
