DE vs AGCO: Why 30% Equipment Returns Produce 6% ROIC
We computed ROIC from XBRL financial data for four agricultural equipment companies. Deere reports 5.9% consolidated ROIC — nearly identical to AGCO's 5.3%. But Deere's three equipment segments earn 23.8% return on $20.6 billion in segment assets. Financial Services earns 1.6% on $70 billion. The same ROIC number simultaneously hides world-class equipment economics and a $70 billion finance arm with deteriorating credit quality, interest coverage below 2x, and $47.5 billion in commitments. AGCO's FY2025 10-K resolved key uncertainties: the $350M revolver drawdown was fully repaid ($0 at year-end), the PTx Trimble goodwill impairment was a FY2024 charge (FY2025 assessment: clean), and interest coverage recovered to ~4.9x. Replacement parts revenue grew 3.2% to $1,873M while tractor sales fell 23% — the balance sheet signature of an aging fleet. Tariff exposure is wildly asymmetric: Deere faces $1.2B in costs, AGCO just $65M. Titan Machinery has three of four segments at a loss.