Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the fourth quarter. Net income for the farm and construction machinery company rose to $669.6 million ($1.62 per share) vs. $457.3 million ($1.07 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 46.4% from the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 20.4% to $7.9 billion from the year earlier quarter. DE beat the mean analyst estimate of $1.44 per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $7.84 billion.

“John Deere has completed another year of exceptional achievement,” said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. “Our success reflects a continued pattern of strong customer response to our innovative lines of equipment coupled with the skillful execution of business plans aimed at expanding our global competitive position.”

Competitors to Watch: AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO), Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT), Arts-Way Manufacturing Co. Inc. (NASDAQ:ARTW), The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC), Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN), Kubota Corporation (NYSE:KUB), CNH Global N.V. (NYSE:CNH), Alamo Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALG), Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE:MTW), and American Soil Tech., Inc. (SOYL).

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE:YGE) can hang its hat on beating Wall Street’s expectations. Reported a loss of $28.3 million (18 cents per diluted share) in the quarter. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited had a net income of $68.2 million or 44 cents per share in the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 36% to $667.7 million from the year earlier quarter. YGE reported adjusted net income of 14 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 3 cents per share. Analysts were expecting revenue of $662.2 million.

“I’m pleased to see that we emerged stronger under the challenging market dynamics in the third quarter. With a 21.9% increase in PV module shipments in this quarter, we marked another record of quarterly shipment volumes. This was attributable to our well-recognized brand, diversified customer portfolio, strong product bankability, outstanding after-sales services, leading cost structure and cutting-edge technology,” commented Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy.

Competitors to Watch: Trina Solar Limited (NYSE:TSL), Suntech Power Hldgs. Co., Ltd. (NYSE:STP), JA Solar Hldgs. Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:JASO), SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWRA), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSUN), Hanwha Solarone Co Ltd (HSOL), JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS), and Ascent Solar Tech., Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI).

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