Digital Transformation in Agriculture

In today’s episode, Shawn O’Malley (@Shawn_OMalley_) breaks down John Deere, a company as American as Levi’s blue jeans and apple pie. John Deere is a fascinating business because it has survived for nearly two hundred years and remained an industry leader for much of that time, continually building their world-famous green-and-yellow tractors.

Deere is about much more than tractors, though, and you might be surprised to learn that its story is really about cutting-edge technology. Deere’s equipment is extremely sophisticated, and the company is working on autonomous tractors that may very well be the future of agriculture. After breaking down Deere’s business, Shawn shares his thoughts on the company’s valuation and his decision on whether to add it to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio he’s building each week on the show, plus so much more!

Prefer to watch? Click here to watch this episode on YouTube.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN

00:00 - Intro

01:56 - How John Deere was founded. 

19:24 - Why farmers love John Deere so much.

24:24 - How the company has embraced cutting-edge technology.

33:04 - Where Deere stacks up against the competition.

41:58 - Why subscriptions are enabling Deere’s business to be less cyclical.

55:19 - How to value a cyclical company. 

56:53 - What to make of Deere’s seemingly large amount of debt.

01:06:40 - Whether Shawn thinks the stock is attractively valued.

And much, much more!

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

• Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members.
• Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, The Intrinsic Value Newsletter.
• Leandro’s article on John Deere for Best Anchor Stocks.
• Leandro’s Twitter account.
• Value Investors Club pitch of John Deere.
• David Magee's The John Deere Way.
• Aswath Damodaran on valuing cyclical businesses.
• Attend the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting and meet-ups with The Investors Podcast Network.
• Check out the books mentioned in the podcast here.
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