Deere & Company management check
DE · Industrials · Agricultural & Farm Machinery · CEO Mr. May
Filings as of
4 good · 1 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $218, against $222 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Flag
Does pay follow performance?
Pay moved against returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of -0.86 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$27.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $5.0bn of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingLight activity: no buys, $23.4m sold in six months. 21 of 21 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -3.8% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.3% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
8 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Mr. May. 8 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Industrials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 48 | 55 | |
| Pay for performance | 7 | 86 | |
| CEO cost | 71 | 48 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 55 |
| Dilution | 98 | 62 | |
| Stable leadership | 85 | 75 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Nearest in rank in Industrials, by management score. Deere & Company is 40th of 81 in its sector.
- 197IRIngersoll Rand69
- 198EMREmerson Electric69
- 200UPSUnited Parcel Service69
- 205DEDeere & Company68
- 206TXTTextron68
- 208AMEAmetek68
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed January 14, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. May | $27.9m | $15.0m | $7.5m | $218 | $222 | $5.0bn |
| 2024 | — | $27.8m | $31.0m | $7.6m | $190 | $191 | $7.1bn |
| 2023 | — | $26.7m | $29.0m | $7.8m | $166 | $134 | $10.2bn |
| 2022 | — | $20.3m | $38.6m | $5.2m | $180 | $129 | $7.1bn |
| 2021 | — | $19.9m | $48.0m | $6.6m | $153 | $140 | $6.0bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Operating Return on Operating Assets. Its other key measures: Operating Return on Operating Assets (OROA), Operating Return on Sales (OROS), Shareholder Value Added (SVA), Relative Total Shareholder Return (rTSR), Relative Revenue Growth, Return on Equity (ROE).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Light activity: no buys, $23.4m sold in six months. 21 of 21 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldRyan D CampbellPres WWC&F and Pwr Systems · 10b5-1 plan$23.4mAug 31, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 1, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 1, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 16, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 22, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 2, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 1, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 30, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 3, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 1, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 1, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 31, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Feb 27, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $25.6bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 72% of net income, and $656.0m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $44.0bn | $52.6bn | $61.3bn | $51.7bn | $45.7bn |
| Net income | $6.0bn | $7.1bn | $10.2bn | $7.1bn | $5.0bn |
| Stock-based pay | $82.0m | $85.0m | $130.0m | $208.0m | $151.0m |
| Buybacks | $2.5bn | $3.6bn | $7.2bn | $4.0bn | $1.1bn |
| Dividends | $1.0bn | $1.3bn | $1.4bn | $1.6bn | $1.7bn |
| Diluted shares | 314m | 306m | 294m | 277m | 272m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.