Manufacturing · Profile from Manufacturing Research Companion: Companies, Strategic Moves, and Technical Studies
Deere & Company
The Moline, Illinois maker of John Deere tractors, combines, sprayers and planters — the world's largest farm-equipment company — which traces its origin to a blacksmith's steel plough of 1837, entered tractors by buying the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company on 14 Mar 1918, and since the 2000s has tried to turn its machines into a data and software platform. Deere's manufacturing story turns on turning equipment into a data and software platform — and the licence-to-operate cost of locking repair. GPS guidance, telematics, the Operations Center and Blue River Technology's See & Spray (bought for $305m in Sep 2017) made Deere's machines the most technically advanced in farming and gave it pricing power through 2022–23. The same software locks drew a decade-long right-to-repair fight, an FTC lawsuit filed 15 Jan 2025 and a settlement with the FTC and five states announced 8 Jul 2026 requiring repair-resource parity with dealers. Meanwhile the farm cycle turned: net income fell from ~$7.1bn (fiscal 2024) to ~$5.0bn (fiscal 2025), layoffs ran through 2024–25, and tariffs cost Deere ~$1.1bn gross (~$750m net) in fiscal 2026 — a year its CEO called "the bottom of the large ag cycle."
At a glance
- Founded
- John Deere's self-scouring steel plough, Grand Detour, Illinois, 1837 (from memory, verify); the company moved to Moline in 1848 and incorporated as Deere & Company in 1868 (from memory, verify)
- Headquarters
- Moline, Illinois
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: DE); fiscal year ends around 1 Nov (fiscal 2025 ended 2 Nov 2025)
- Leadership (2026)
- John May, chairman and CEO (CEO since Nov 2019, from memory, verify)
- Segments
- Production & Precision Agriculture (large tractors, combines, sprayers, planters); Small Agriculture & Turf; Construction & Forestry (incl. Wirtgen road-building machinery, bought 2017, ~€4.4bn — from memory, verify; equal to section 11); Financial Services (John Deere Financial)
- Scale
- Fiscal 2025 (to 2 Nov 2025): net income ~$5.027bn ($18.50 a share) vs ~$7.100bn in fiscal 2024; Q4 revenue ~$12.39bn (+11.2%) (company release, 26 Nov 2025). Fiscal 2026 guidance: net income $4.00–4.75bn (Nov 2025), raised at the low end to $4.75–5.0bn (fiscal Q3 call, 20 Aug 2026, reported; equal to section 11)
- Tariffs
- Fiscal 2026 direct tariff expense ~$1.1bn before refunds, ~$750m net; $382m of refunds recognised year to date at Q3; ~$1bn run rate expected for fiscal 2027 (fiscal Q3 call, reported; verify vs 10-Q — Shared facts and section 11)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Steel plough (1837); Waterloo Boy and the tractor (1918); the dealer system and John Deere credit (1950s); the 1980s farm crisis and the 1986–87 strike; GPS guidance and precision agriculture (StarFire, 2000s); Blue River Technology (2017); the 2021 UAW strike; FTC v. Deere and the 2026 settlement; the 2024–26 downturn, layoffs and the Mexico shift
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1837
Steel Plough
Founding / product launch (self-scouring steel plough), then a new plant on the Mississippi (Moline, 1848)
1918
Waterloo Boy and the Tractor
Acquisition (Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, Waterloo, Iowa) and product platform (the Waterloo Boy tractor)
1958
Dealer System and John Deere Credit
Distribution model and captive finance (independent dealer network supported by a manufacturer-owned credit company)
1986
Farm Crisis and the UAW Strike
Restructuring (production cuts, layoffs) and labour dispute (UAW strike) during an industry depression
2001
StarFire Guidance and Precision Agriculture
Technology bet (satellite guidance, telematics and data platforms built into machines)
2017
Blue River Technology
Acquisition (technology and talent)
2021
UAW Strike
Labour agreement or strike (five-week UAW strike; six-year contract)
2024
Downturn Layoffs and the Mexico Shift
Restructuring (production cuts and layoffs) and footprint change (compact construction equipment moved to Mexico), under a tariff shock
2025
FTC Right to Repair Suit and 2026 Settlement
Regulatory or legal action (antitrust suit over repair restrictions; settlement with repair-resource parity)