Wednesday, February 16, 2011

John Deere Crushes on Bottom Line, Misses on Top Line, Raises on Outlook(DE)

In pre-market trade the stock is up 3.8% at $97.17 and I am thinking of a short somewhere down the road.
And that's after saying, just sixteen hours ago:
One standout was John Deere, down "only" 1.2%. The company reports tomorrow.
The ag/commodity trade has gotten very popular and that makes me a bit nervous. It's not yet 1999 when you went long in the morning and went to the club at the close but the 'easy money' talk is starting to flow.

From Zacks: 

DEERE TOPS Q1 EPS ESTIMATES, RAISES FORECAST
Deere (NYSE:DE) reported fiscal Q1 EPS of $1.20, beating consensus estimates of 99 cents. Revenue totaled $5.51 billion which was shy of the Street target of $5.67 billion.

The company said it sees fiscal Q2 equipment sales up 25% and sees full-year sales up 18-20%. Deere said it sees full-year profit of $2.5 billion which was up from its prior forecast of $2.1 billion (vs. Street estimate of $2.4 billion).

Chairman and CEO Sam Allen said, "John Deere's first-quarter results reflect improving demand for our innovative lines of equipment coupled with the skillful execution of our business plans. Our actions are helping attract customers through advanced new products and technologies. Sales of large farm machinery, particularly in the United States and Canada, are continuing to make a major impact, while construction equipment shipments are experiencing some degree of recovery. Our record first-quarter performance is especially gratifying in light of market conditions that remain below normal levels in certain key sectors."... 
From the company:
Deere Reports Record First-Quarter Earnings of $514 Million