Reference no: EM132719605

Problem - Deere & Company (DE) manufactures and distributes farm and construction machinery that it sells around the world. In addition to its manufacturing operations, Deere's credit division loans money to customers to finance the purchase of their farm and construction equipment. The following information is available for three recent years (in millions except per-share amounts):

	Year 3	Year 2	Year 1
Net income (loss)	$1,523.9	$1,940.0	$3,161.7
Preferred dividends	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Interest expense	$763.7	$680.0	$664.0
Shares outstanding for computing earnings per share	315	334	363
Cash dividend per share	$2.40	$2.40	$2.22
Average total assets	$57,965	$59,642	$60,429
Average stockholders' equity	$6,644	$7,912	$9,667
Average stock price per share	$92.03	$81.10	$85.58

Required -

1. Calculate the following ratios for each year. Round ratios and percentages to one decimal place, except for per-share amounts, which should be rounded to the nearest cent.

a. Return on total assets

b. Return on stockholders' equity

c. Earnings per share

d. Dividend yield

e. Price-earnings ratio

2. Based on these data, evaluate Deere's profitability.