Deere’s third-quarter profit falls, in part due to U.S. tariff headwinds

John Deere lawn tractors sit on display outside a Home Depot in Robinson Township, Pa., Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Farm-equipment maker Deere & Co. reported a lower third-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by muted demand and headwinds from U.S. tariffs.

Shares of the company fell about 6 per cent in premarket trading.

Crop prices for wheat, corn and soybeans are near multi-year lows in North America, denting demand for farming equipment.

Additionally, U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have impacted companies across sectors, with the manufacturing and industrial firms taking the biggest hit.

Farmer have also been gravitating toward renting machinery to cut their costs, which has hit sales of big-ticket equipment such as tractors and combines.

Deere also cut the upper end of its annual profit forecast to US$5.25 billion, down from its prior expectation of $5.50 billion.

The company’s net income in the third quarter came in at $1.29 billion, or $4.75 per share, compared with $1.73 billion, or $6.29 per share, a year earlier.

Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Reuters