Deere & Co. Shares Tumble on Earnings Miss

by Christopher Freeburn | August 15, 2012 11:01 am

Investors hammered Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE[1]) shares after the company missed Wall Street’s quarterly profit forecast[2] and lowered its sales guidance for the rest of the year.

Deere said late Tuesday that it earned $788 million during its fiscal third quarter, up from $712.3 million in the same period last year.

The farm equipment maker recorded revenue of $9.59 billion, up 15% from 2011, and topping analysts, who had predicted revenue of $9.53 billion, Reuters noted.

EPS for the third quarter was $1.98, which fell considerably short of the $2.31 a share Wall Street had expected.

Deere shares tumbled more than 7% in Wednesday morning trading.

The company also lowered its sales projections for the year, saying it now expects a 13% increase in equipment sales compared to last year, down from a previous estimate of a 15% rise.

Company officials said that equipment sales in Asia would be moderately lower this year. European sales are expected to remain unchanged, but South American sales will drop between 5% and 10% due to Argentina’s drought.

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