Looking to the year ending in October, the company expects total equipment sales to drop 15%, with a 21% decline in the first quarter. Deere forecast earnings for the year of $1.9 billion, while analysts called for $2.2 billion.
That FY2015 would be a down year was already a foregone conclusion due to weak crop prices; the only question was the magnitude of the drop. (DE’s fiscal year ends Oct 31.)