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⚠ Non-Traditional CompetitorsLow threat

Deere & Company (DE) — threat to the moat

Deere's 10-K names technology companies and start-ups as new rivals; so far it has bought them, for $284 million and $439 million.

Deere's 10-K warns about a kind of competitor that does not build tractors. "As technology increasingly enables enhanced productivity in agriculture, the industry is also attracting non-traditional competitors, including technology-focused companies and start-up ventures," it says1.

Deere technology acquisitions, purchase price ($M)284Blue River (2017)439Tenna (2026)Deere Form 10-K FY2017; Form 10-Q Q3 FY2026
Rivals bought while small.

Deere has so far met that threat by buying it. Blue River, the source of See & Spray, was a start-up acquired for $284 million in 20172. Tenna, a construction technology company, was bought in February 2026 for $439 million3. Each purchase removes a rival and adds a capability.

That strategy works while the start-ups are small and the prices low. It works less well if a large technology company decides that farm data, autonomy software or computer vision is worth competing for directly, because such a company could offer software that runs on any brand of machine. A mixed-fleet farmer, with a Deere tractor and a rival combine, would welcome it.

Deere's own technology spending is the defence. It kept research and development at $1,704 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, against $1,631 million a year earlier4, so that a start-up competing with it faces a budget measured in billions.

The signal would be in Deere's own deal prices. If Deere pays more than $1 billion for a single technology acquisition, the start-ups will have become expensive enough to suggest the threat has grown.

References
  1. Reported"As technology increasingly enables enhanced productivity in agriculture, the industry is also attracting non-traditional competitors, including technology-focused companies and start-up ventures," it says.
    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. ReportedBlue River, the source of See & Spray, was a start-up acquired for $284 million in 2017.
    Deere & Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2017 - the Blue River Technology acquisition for $284 million (September 2017) and the Wirtgen Group acquisition for EUR 4,475 million, about $5,327 million (1 December 2017). — FY2017 · publ. December 2017 · source ↗
  3. ReportedTenna, a construction technology company, was bought in February 2026 for $439 million.
    Deere & Company Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 2 August 2026, $ millions - segment results for the quarter and nine months, price realization and the Tenna acquisition. — Q3 FY2026 · publ. 27 August 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedIt kept research and development at $1,704 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, against $1,631 million a year earlier, so that a start-up competing with it faces a budget measured in billions.
    Deere & Company Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 2 August 2026, $ millions - income statement, balance sheet, receivables, financing receivables, cash returned and the outlook. — Q3 FY2026 · publ. 27 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 5, 2026