AI-generated analysis, not investment advice. The articles are written by AI, edited, and checked against company filings — but the judgements are opinions and the figures go stale. How this is made · Terms

No Customer Worth NamingWide moat

Deere & Company (DE) — moat facet

Deere has no customer large enough to disclose, and its lender says none is a disproportionate credit risk; the concentration is in the farm economy, not in any name.

Deere sells to millions of farmers, contractors and homeowners, and none of them matters on its own. The 10-K contains no customer-concentration disclosure, and the finance arm states: "There is no disproportionate concentration of credit risk with any single customer or dealer"1. It retains the equipment as collateral on most financing receivables2.

Deere trade receivables more than twelve months old, share of total (%)327 Jul 202532 Nov 202512 Aug 2026Deere Form 10-Q Q3 FY2026, key metrics
No large customer and few slow payers.

That is the strongest kind of client base an industrial company can have. No buyer can dictate terms, and no single default or defection moves the results. Deere also sells turf, garden and compact construction products through The Home Depot and Lowe's3, but neither is disclosed as a significant customer.

The quality of what customers owe is improving. The share of worldwide trade receivables outstanding for more than twelve months was 1% at 2 August 2026, against 3% at the fiscal year end and 3% a year earlier4.

The diversification has a limit, discussed on Eighty-Nine Percent in Two Countries. Many customers spread across one economy share the same crop prices and interest rates, so they do well and badly together. A downturn in American agriculture reaches all of them at once.

The mass retailers are the nearest thing to concentrated buyers. Deere builds turf products for sale by The Home Depot and Lowe's and sells garden and compact construction products through them5, but the segment they buy from, small agriculture and turf, is a quarter of equipment sales6, and neither retailer is named as significant.

The clean receivables are the test. A return above 3% for receivables more than twelve months old would mean customers are paying more slowly across the base, which in a business with no concentrated buyer is the concentration that matters.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Aged trade receivables 1% at August 2026.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Trade receivables more than twelve months old, latest quarter
1% of the total (2 Aug 2026), against 3% at FYE 2025 and 3% a year earlier

How the dispersed customer base is paying; above 3% would mean slower payment across the base.

Source: Deere & Company Form 10-Q, Q3 FY2026 ↗
References
  1. ReportedThe 10-K contains no customer-concentration disclosure, and the finance arm states: "There is no disproportionate concentration of credit risk with any single customer or dealer".
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 2 November 2025), $ millions - Item 1A risk factors and legal proceedings: the farm cycle, interest rates, tariffs, technology adoption, competition and the right-to-repair litigation. — FY2025 · publ. 18 December 2025 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIt retains the equipment as collateral on most financing receivables.
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 2 November 2025), $ millions - Financial Services: John Deere Capital Corporation, financing receivables, credit quality, interest-free periods, the support agreement and Banco John Deere. — FY2025 · publ. 18 December 2025 · source ↗
  3. ReportedDeere also sells turf, garden and compact construction products through The Home Depot and Lowe's, but neither is disclosed as a significant customer.
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 2 November 2025), $ millions - Item 1 business: dealers, distribution, parts, used-equipment trade-ins, sales incentives and manufacturing. — FY2025 · publ. 18 December 2025 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe share of worldwide trade receivables outstanding for more than twelve months was 1% at 2 August 2026, against 3% at the fiscal year end and 3% a year earlier.
    Deere & Company Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 2 August 2026, $ millions - balance sheet and key metrics: receivables, inventories, dealer incentives, financing receivables and the Banco John Deere exposure. — Q3 FY2026 · publ. 27 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedDeere builds turf products for sale by The Home Depot and Lowe's and sells garden and compact construction products through them, but the segment they buy from, small agriculture and turf, is a quarter of equipment sales, and neither retailer is named as significant.
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 2 November 2025), $ millions - Item 1 business: dealers, distribution, parts, used-equipment trade-ins, sales incentives and manufacturing. — FY2025 · publ. 18 December 2025 · source ↗
  6. ReportedDeere builds turf products for sale by The Home Depot and Lowe's and sells garden and compact construction products through them, but the segment they buy from, small agriculture and turf, is a quarter of equipment sales, and neither retailer is named as significant.
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended 2 November 2025), $ millions - Item 1 business: dealers, distribution, parts, used-equipment trade-ins, sales incentives and manufacturing. — FY2025 · publ. 18 December 2025 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 5, 2026