Why Deere Stock Shot Higher in November
Late last month, heavy equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results thanks to strong demand from agricultural customers. Investors cheered both its results and management's forecast for more good times to come, sending shares of Deere up 11.4% in November, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Although many sectors of the economy have sputtered in 2022, agriculture has held up relatively well. Higher crop prices, driven in part by disruptions in Ukraine -- normally a major food exporter -- have provided farmers with funds to invest in new tractors and other heavy machinery. Meanwhile, the passage of President Biden's massive infrastructure bill has led to increased spending on new construction equipment.
Deere has been a primary beneficiary of both trends, and as a result, it outperformed expectations in its fiscal Q4, which ended Oct. 30. The company earned $7.44 per share in the quarter on revenue of $15.54 billion, easily besting analysts' consensus expectations for $7.11 per share in earnings on $13.39 billion in sales.
Source Fool.com
