AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 3/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat—
Insufficient evidence for every rubric criterion; no category score is inferred.
structural advantage · — · Brand, distribution and integrated technology are established assets, but their superiority and barriers to replication are insufficiently demonstrated to confirm a moat.
durability · — · The passages do not establish sustained competitive advantage through changing technology, regulation and industry cycles.
customer dependency · — · Bundled technology and dealer connectivity suggest dependence, but migration friction, purchasing loyalty and renewal outcomes are not established.
erosion resilience · — · Pricing recovery demonstrates operating resilience, but competitive incentives and repair-access changes leave structural erosion resilience unresolved.
Pricing power50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 2/4 · Pricing exceeded cost increases in 2023 and contributed $403 million pretax to third-quarter 2026 improvement. Construction pricing fell 3% in the U.S. and Canada in 2025 because of competitive incentives. These are mixed realized outcomes across the cycle.
retention · 2/4 · Existing maintenance-component sales, renewable technology offerings and connected equipment support recurring customer relationships indirectly. They do not establish renewal rates or same-customer equipment repurchases; 2026 demand improvement coexists with substantial 2025 weakness.
margin resilience · 2/4 · Deere remained profitable through the 2023–2025 contraction, and reported stronger returns than prior cycle troughs. Earnings nevertheless fell substantially, while 2026 pricing and small-agriculture profit improvements faced higher production costs. Resilience is demonstrated but mixed.
contractual freedom · 2/4 · Deere can introduce dealer incentive programs after equipment sales, demonstrating discretion over commercial concessions. Certain technology entails service-period obligations, and repair-resource terms are constrained by the settlement. Broader equipment repricing rights are not supplied.
Predictability80
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 50.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 15.88
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 3.12
Financial strength—
Missing required inputs: debtFcfGrade, netDebtEbitGrade, currentRatioGrade. Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- interestCoverageGrade
- 17.94
Capital allocation—
Missing required inputs: operatingReturn. Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -3.81
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 0.31
- cashConversionGrade
- 93.22
Management63
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Nine-month 2026 operating cash inflow of $3.250 billion accompanied $825 million of net investing outflows, $2.013 billion returned to shareholders and slightly lower borrowings. The completed $439 million Tenna purchase is documented, but its returns remain unproven and consolidated investing flows include financing activity.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Existing incentives use asset returns, profitability, relative revenue growth and relative shareholder returns. The completed 2025 PSU performance period produced no payout after below-threshold relative growth, demonstrating an actual consequence. Ownership requirements, clawbacks and hedging prohibitions add safeguards; actual ownership amounts are missing.
execution · 2/4 · Actual 2026 sales growth, favorable pricing and small-agriculture profit improvement support execution, assessed partly through indirect operating outcomes. They are balanced by 2025 inventory-related purchase delays, weaker demand and incentives, and a completed PSU period with below-threshold relative revenue growth.
governance · 3/4 · Disclosed independent committee structures, regular executive sessions, annual elections, majority voting, proxy access and independent CEO compensation evaluation support strong governance arrangements. The combined chair/CEO position and repair settlement temper the assessment; the effective-controls conclusion is management's assessment.
Evidence
John Deere’s brand recognition is a competitive factor in North America and many other parts of the world.
Business / brand recognition · Filed 12/12/2024
and Canada, we market products to approximately 2,050 independent dealer locations.
Business / sales and distribution / dealer locations · Filed 18/12/2025
Outside the U.S. and Canada, our agriculture and turf equipment is sold to distributors and dealers for resale in over 100 countries.
Business / international dealer distribution · Filed 18/12/2025
The competitive environment for the agriculture and turf operations includes some global competitors, such as AGCO Corporation, CLAAS KGaA mbH, CNH Industrial N.V., Kubota Tractor Corporation, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, and The Toro Company.
Business / named agriculture and turf competitors · Filed 12/12/2024
When the total inventory levels of our dealers are higher than they desire, dealers have postponed equipment purchases from us, and could continue to postpone purchases in the future, which could cause our sales to be lower and negatively impact our results.
Risk factors / realized dealer inventory purchase delays · Filed 18/12/2025
Price realization decreased 3% in the U.S.
MD&A / construction and forestry / 2025 price realization · Filed 18/12/2025
and Canada due to incremental incentive programs deployed to address pressures from the competitive environment and was flat outside the U.S.
MD&A / construction and forestry / competitive incentives · Filed 18/12/2025
Certain equipment is sold with precision guidance, telematics, and other information gathering and analyzing capabilities.
Revenue recognition / equipment precision and telematics capabilities · Filed 18/12/2025
These technology solutions require hardware, software, and may include an obligation to provide services for a period of time.
Revenue recognition / technology hardware, software and service obligations · Filed 18/12/2025
These solutions are mostly bundled with the sale of the equipment but can also be purchased or renewed separately.
Revenue recognition / bundled and separately renewable technology · Filed 18/12/2025
Our advanced telematics systems remotely connect equipment owners, business managers, and dealers to equipment in the field.
Business / telematics connections to owners, managers and dealers · Filed 12/12/2024
As technology increasingly enables enhanced productivity in agriculture, the industry is also attracting non-traditional competitors, including technology-focused companies and start-up ventures.
Business / nontraditional technology competition · Filed 12/12/2024
As part of that settlement, we have agreed, among other items, to provide certain repair resources to farmers and independent repair providers on “fair and reasonable terms” (as defined by the settlement).
Legal proceedings / July 2026 repair-access settlement obligations · Filed 27/08/2026
We have also agreed to provide regular reporting to the FTC and submit to the FTC’s oversight of our compliance with the settlement.
Legal proceedings / FTC reporting and compliance oversight · Filed 27/08/2026
Net income and diluted EPS grew at a faster rate than sales due to our ability to keep cost increases below price realization.
MD&A / 2023 price realization relative to cost increases · Filed 15/12/2023
Net income increased $90 in the third quarter primarily due to favorable price realization of $286 ($403 pretax), partially offset by unfavorable tax impacts of $114 and increased production costs of $89 ($126 pretax), primarily from higher material costs.
MD&A / third-quarter 2026 realized pricing and production-cost effects · Filed 27/08/2026
46 Table of Contents DEERE & COMPANY STATEMENTS OF CONSOLIDATED INCOME For the Years Ended November 2, 2025, October 27, 2024, and October 29, 2023 2025 2024 2023 Net Sales and Revenues Net sales $ 38,917 $ 44,759 $ 55,565 Finance and interest income 5,748 5,759 4,683 Other income 1,019 1,198 1,003 Total 45,684 51,716 61,251 Costs and Expenses Cost of sales 28,159 30,775 37,715 Research and development expenses 2,311 2,290 2,177 Selling, administrative and general expenses 4,663 4,840 4,595 Interest expense 3,170 3,348 2,453 Other operating expenses 1,124 1,257 1,292 Total 39,427 42,510 48,232 Income of Consolidated Group before Income Taxes 6,257 9,206 13,019 Provision for income taxes 1,259 2,094 2,871 Income of Consolidated Group 4,998 7,112 10,148 Equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated affiliates (24) 7 Net Income 4,998 7,088 10,155 Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (29) (12) (11) Net Income Attributable to Deere & Company $ 5,027 $ 7,100 $ 10,166 Per Share Data Basic $ 18.55 $ 25.73 $ 34.80 Diluted 18.50 25.62 34.63 Dividends declared 6.48 5.88 5.05 Dividends paid 6.33 5.76 4.83 Average Shares Outstanding (in millions of shares) Basic 270.9 276.0 292.2 Diluted 271.7 277.1 293.6 The notes to consolidated financial statements are an integral part of this statement.
Consolidated income statements / 2023–2025 results and share counts · Filed 18/12/2025
Operating profit for the first nine months increased due to higher shipment volumes / sales mix and favorable price realization, partially offset by higher production costs due to an increase in material costs.
MD&A / small agriculture and turf / nine-month operating-profit drivers · Filed 27/08/2026
There are numerous programs available at any time, and new programs may be announced after we record the equipment sale to the dealer.
Accounting estimates / discretion to announce dealer incentive programs · Filed 18/12/2025
37 Cash Flows Nine Months Ended August 2, 2026 July 27, 2025 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 3,250 $ 3,464 Net cash used for investing activities (825) (801) Net cash used for financing activities (1,828) (1,557) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 20 108 Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash $ 617 $ 1,214 Cash inflows from consolidated operating activities in the first nine months of 2026 were $3,250.
MD&A / nine-month 2026 consolidated cash flows · Filed 27/08/2026
Cash returned to shareholders was $2,013 in the first nine months of 2026.
MD&A / nine-month 2026 cash returned to shareholders · Filed 27/08/2026
Tenna was acquired for a purchase price of $439, net of $1 cash acquired, and the purchase price allocation to acquired assets and assumed liabilities is presented below.
Acquisitions / completed Tenna purchase consideration · Filed 27/08/2026
Borrowings. Total external borrowings decreased by $100 in the first nine months of 2026 and decreased $2,810 compared to a year ago, generally corresponding with the level of the receivable and lease portfolio, as well as other working capital requirements.
MD&A / actual external borrowing changes · Filed 27/08/2026
Type of Compensation Metric Alignment with Business Strategy Short-Term short-term incentive (known within Deere as STI) Operating Return on Operating Assets (OROA) Return on capital and assets through disciplined asset management and capital allocation Operating Return on Sales (OROS) Profitability through operating margin focus Return on Equity (ROE) Return on equity through efficient use of equity Long-Term long-term Incentive (known within Deere as LTI) Relative Revenue Growth Sustained growth outperformance Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR) Comparative TSR outperformance As our NEOs assume greater responsibility, we award a larger portion of their total compensation in the form of performance-based or “at-risk” incentive awards and a larger portion of their incentive awards in the form of equity.
Executive compensation / existing incentive metrics · Filed 14/01/2026
As discussed in the CD&A under “Long-term Incentive PSU Payout for Performance Period Ended 2025,” the PSUs had no payout due to the revenue growth relative to the performance peer group performing below the threshold.
Outstanding equity awards / completed performance period with no PSU payout · Filed 14/01/2026
We are committed to sound governance practices, including those described below: INDEPENDENCE ◾ All of our director nominees, except our Chairman and CEO, are independent ◾ The independent Lead Director has a role with significant governance responsibilities ◾ All standing Board committees other than the Executive Committee are composed wholly of independent directors ◾ Independent directors meet regularly in executive session without management present BEST PRACTICES ◾ Directors may not stand for re-election after their 75th birthdays, absent Board approval provided in rare circumstances ◾ Directors may not serve on more than three other public company boards, and sitting public company CEOs may not serve on more than one other public company board ◾ Directors may not serve on the audit committee of more than three public companies, including Deere’s Audit Review Committee ◾ Directors rotate committee membership periodically, as approved by the Board ◾ Our recoupment policy requires an executive to return any incentive compensation found to have been awarded erroneously in the event of a financial restatement ◾ Directors and executives are subject to stock ownership requirements ◾ Directors and executives are prohibited from hedging or pledging their Deere stock ACCOUNTABILITY ◾ All directors are elected annually ◾ In uncontested elections, directors are elected by majority vote ◾ The Board and each active Board committee conducts an annual performance self-evaluation ◾ Shareholders have the ability to include nominees in our proxy statement (so-called proxy access rights) RISK OVERSIGHT ◾ The Board oversees Deere’s overall risk management structure ◾ Individual Board committees oversee certain risks related to their specific areas of responsibility ◾ We have robust risk management processes throughout the Company OUR VALUES Our actions are guided by our core values: Integrity, Quality, Humanity, Commitment, and Innovation.
Corporate governance / independence, ownership rules and accountability · Filed 14/01/2026
Generally, at the Board meeting in August, the independent members of the full Board (in executive session without the CEO present) evaluates the CEO’s performance.
Compensation process / independent directors evaluate CEO · Filed 14/01/2026
The CEO does not play a role in and is not present during discussions regarding his own compensation.
Compensation process / CEO exclusion from own compensation discussions · Filed 14/01/2026
Item 4.CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) were effective as of August 2, 2026, based on the evaluation of these controls and procedures required by Rule 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) of the Exchange Act.
Controls and procedures / management conclusion as of August 2, 2026 · Filed 27/08/2026
Net sales and revenues increased 5% and 7% for the quarter and year-to-date periods, respectively, primarily due to higher sales volumes, the positive effects of foreign currency translation, and favorable price realization.
MD&A / realized quarterly and year-to-date revenue growth · Filed 27/08/2026
We remanufacture used engines and components (cores) that are sold to dealers and retail customers for maintenance and repair parts.
Revenue recognition / remanufactured maintenance and repair components · Filed 18/12/2025
In fiscal year 2025, unfavorable market conditions resulted in lower sales volumes, greater reliance on sales incentives, and elevated receivable write-offs.
Risk factors / realized 2025 volume, incentive and write-off pressures · Filed 18/12/2025
Specifically, fiscal 2025 OROA performance exceeded 2009 and 2016 levels by more than 40%, while OROS outperformed those same periods by over 58%.
Compensation discussion / reported 2025 returns versus prior cycle troughs · Filed 14/01/2026
