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CNH Industrial: How America's 19th-Century Farm Equipment Pioneers Became a Global Industrial Powerhouse
I. Introduction & Episode Roadmap
Picture a family of four on a Wisconsin prairie in 1842—a father wiping sweat from his brow, his back aching from hours of hand-threshing wheat. Somewhere nearby, a 22-year-old named Jerome Increase Case is hitching horses to a strange wooden contraption, a crude threshing machine he purchased back East. Across the Atlantic, in the Piedmont hills of Italy, the Agnelli family is still half a century away from building automobiles. And in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a young Mennonite named Abram Zimmerman hasn't yet been born.
None of these individuals could have imagined that their lives—and the companies they would create—would one day merge into a single global colossus worth billions of dollars. Yet that is precisely what happened.
CNH Industrial NV is an Italian-American multinational corporation with global headquarters in Basildon, United Kingdom, but controlled and mostly owned by the multinational investment company Exor, which in turn is controlled by the Agnelli family. The histories of the Company's constituent brands began taking shape from the mid-1800's, across North America and Europe. Visionary minds including Jerome Increase Case, Abe Zimmerman, and Giovanni Agnelli, founder of the vast and pioneering FIAT empire, imbued CNH brands with the tools and traits to ensure their longevity.
Today, CNH Industrial stands as the world's second-largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery, with agriculture representing roughly 82% of industrial net sales while construction equipment comprises the remaining 18%. The company operates forty production sites and 49 R&D centers across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia Pacific. With over 35,000 employees, its nine brands serve customers in approximately 170 markets worldwide.
The central question that drives this analysis: How did three separate companies founded in the 1840s-1890s—an American threshing machine maker, a Pennsylvania blacksmith shop, and an Italian automaker—end up becoming one company controlled by Italy's most famous industrial family?
The answer involves nearly two centuries of American agricultural revolution, cutthroat competition known as the "Harvester Wars," the devastating 1980s farm crisis, and the relentless consolidation instinct of one of Europe's shrewdest industrial dynasties. It's a story of how farming went from manual labor yielding half a dozen bushels per person per day to precision-guided autonomous tractors that can plant, spray, and harvest with centimeter accuracy—all while the number of players in this industry has dwindled from hundreds to a handful.
II. The Three Origin Stories: Case, New Holland, and Fiat (1842–1945)
A. Jerome Increase Case & The American Agricultural Revolution
The year is 1842, and America is in the midst of its great westward expansion. Jerome Increase Case (1819–1891) was born to a farming family in Williamstown, New York. As a young child, Case read about a machine that could cut wheat without people needing to use their hands. He developed an interest in agriculture at that point. Case took small, hand-powered threshing machines to Wisconsin in 1842, where he improved the design and established a company to manufacture them.
The context of 19th-century American farming cannot be overstated. Wheat was cut with scythes, then beaten by hand to remove the grain. The blistering work meant that one person produced about half a dozen bushels a day, so farmers necessarily limited their acreage to prevent bottlenecks in production of their wheat.
When Case was 16, he took his father to a demonstration of a crude, mechanized thresher patented around 1788 by Scotsman Andrew Meikle. His father was sufficiently impressed by the machine and applied for a franchise to sell them. For five seasons, Jerome Case operated the machine for his father and his father's clients. During that time, Case became aware of the machine's flaws, as well as its indispensability to farming.
Case's move to Wisconsin was driven by both opportunity and setback. When he approached the owners of the waterpower rights of the Fox River dam, he was refused permission to install another millrace and wheel. The next morning, young Case hitched a pair of horses to his threshing machine and made his way east to Racine.
In Racine, Case rented a small shop and began to build crude threshers, improving them as new models were made. Each year, the business grew, and, in 1847, Case erected a three-story brick factory in Racine that became the hub of his farm equipment manufacturing business. Whether he realized it or not, in building his first crude threshers, Case had laid the foundation for the largest manufacturing concern of its kind in the world.
The company's innovation trajectory accelerated after the Civil War. Case envisioned a steam-powered thresher that would work faster and out-perform the old horse-power method. In 1869, the first Case steam engine was produced. It was to be followed by 36,000 more over the years. The first Case "traction" engine was developed by 1876. It was awarded a gold medal for excellence at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
In the late 19th century, Case was one of America's largest builders of steam engines, producing self-propelled portable engines, traction engines and steam tractors. It was a major producer of threshing machines and other harvesting equipment.
Case himself became a figure of considerable influence. Case became rich from the company. In 1871, he became a founder of the Manufacturers' National Bank of Racine and the First National Bank of Burlington. A Republican, he served in the state senate from 1865 to 1866 and was twice mayor of Racine. After retiring from business, he devoted himself to breeding race horses and owned the nationally famous trotting horse "Jay-Eye-See."
On December 22, 1891, the City of Racine was draped in mourning to honor the death of one of America's industrial pioneers.
B. Abe Zimmerman & New Holland's Pennsylvania Roots
While Jerome Case was building an industrial empire in Wisconsin, a different story was unfolding in the quiet farmlands of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The New Holland Machine Company was founded in 1895, when an American young man by the name of Abram Zimmerman purchased a horse barn in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and established a blacksmith shop. Zimmerman was the third of seven children born to the Martin W. and Anna (Martin) Zimmerman.
Abraham Martin Zimmerman (Abe) was born July 31, 1869 in Lancaster County, Pa., the son of conservative Mennonites. His path to entrepreneurship began with apprenticeships in the machinist trade. Abe worked for Ezra F. Landis Machine Works in Lancaster, Pa. learning the machinist trade. After his apprenticeship with Landis, Abe worked for Peter Shirk, owner-founder of the Blue Ball Machine Works.
Zimmerman's genius lay in practical innovation for everyday farming problems. Zimmerman's innovative nature soon had developed a "better idea." Zimmerman thought that he could build and manufacture his own stationary engine which would be lighter in weight and would be easier to repair and operate. By 1900, he had designed his own stationary engine and built prototypes of the engine.
One of the innovations incorporated into Zimmerman's new engine was that the water jacket was shaped like a bowl and was larger at the top than at the bottom. If water were left in the bowl-shaped water jacket of this new engine during a cold winter's night, the ice could expand harmlessly upwards and outwards without cracking the castings of the cylinder or engine. Thus, because of this bowl-shaped water jacket, Zimmerman's new engine was "freeze-proof."
With prototypes of his new engine completed, Zimmerman now wished to manufacture and sell his new engine. To do this he needed to incorporate and take on some new investors. Accordingly, Zimmerman raised $50,000 by selling 500 shares in the new company to his neighbors. Thus, in 1903, the New Holland Machine Company was born. Zimmerman was selected chief executive of the new company.
The company's breakthrough product came decades later during the Great Depression—a period that nearly destroyed the company. The company grew through the 1920s, and although it encountered financial difficulties during the Great Depression, the company survived. New Holland Machine Company introduced the Nolt mobile pickup hay baler in 1940 and reestablished itself as a leader in agricultural equipment.
The New Holland haytools plant traces its roots to 1895 when a two-man machinery repair shop was founded by master machinist and inventor, Abe Zimmerman. Through the years, New Holland became known as the leader in hay & forage technology, pioneering many firsts following the purchase of Lancaster County farmer Ed Nolt's invention of the first commercially viable automatic self-tie baler in 1940. Nolt's automatic self-tie baler revolutionized haymaking and put New Holland on the map.
C. Giovanni Agnelli & The Fiat Empire
While American entrepreneurs were mechanizing the vast prairies of the Midwest, a very different industrial revolution was taking shape in northern Italy.
Giovanni Agnelli (August 13, 1866 – December 16, 1945) was the founder of the Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) automobile company and the leading Italian industrialist of the first half of the 20th century.
Giovanni Agnelli was born in 1866 to a wealthy family of landowners in the Piedmontese region of Villar Perosa, 80 km south-west of Turin. A military career was set out for him and he was trained as an officer at the Military Academy of Modena before becoming a cavalry lieutenant. However, in 1899, enthralled by the big innovation of the late nineteenth century – the car – he founded, with several partners, the Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino.
On 11 July 1899, Agnelli was part of the group of founding members of Fiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino, which became Fiat; he paid $400 for his share.
The first Fiat plant opened in 1900 with 35 staff making 24 cars. The company was known from the beginning for the talent and creativity of its engineering staff. By 1903, Fiat made a small profit and produced 135 cars growing to 1,149 cars by 1906.
Agnelli's ambitions extended far beyond automobiles. He also invested in tractors, railways, ships and planes, and gained ownership of the Juventus football club in 1923. He created his own bank, enabling people to purchase his cars on credit. In order to manage this empire, he founded IFI in 1927, a holding company he controlled, now known as Exor.
Fiat's entry into tractors proved critical to the CNH story. Just a year later, in 1918, Fiat demonstrated its first tractor, the 20hp petrol engine 702. Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino) had been founded in Turin, Italy, in 1899 by a group of engineers and investors including Giovanni Agnelli.
In the 1930s, Fiat's founder, Senator Giovanni Agnelli, wanted his tractor to become an integral part of Italy's agriculture, so he began an association with the Italian agricultural co-operatives.
The Agnelli family's layered holding company structure would prove crucial for maintaining control across generations. Exor's origins trace back to the end of the 19th century, when Giovanni Agnelli founded Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or FIAT. He led the company over the decades by innovating, expanding internationally and investing in new industries.
III. The Rise of International Harvester & Market Consolidation Wars (1902–1985)
The farm equipment industry's first great consolidation wasn't CNH—it was the creation of International Harvester in 1902, an event that would reshape American agriculture and set the stage for the mergers still to come.
International Harvester was formed from the 1902 merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company and three smaller manufacturers: Milwaukee; Plano; and Warder, Bushnell, and Glessner (manufacturers of the Champion brand). Its brands included McCormick, Deering, and later McCormick-Deering.
Between the mid-1880s and 1902, a vicious battle known as "the Harvester Wars" was waged on America's grain fields. The farm equipment manufacturer's capacity to build harvesting machines far exceeded demand, so sales representatives of the two giants, McCormick and Deering, along with their smaller rivals, tried every trick possible to sell their binders to reluctant farmers. The struggle became so intense that competing salesmen would not only bribe farmers to buy, but also allegedly sabotaged the competition's machines and physically attacked people. As the war dragged on, binder prices fell drastically and selling expenses grew to more than 40 percent of total sales. Something had to be done.
In 1902, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company, along with three smaller agricultural equipment firms merged to create the International Harvester Company. The most important motivation for the merger was elimination of competition in order to increase profits. Banker J. P. Morgan provided the financing. The architect of the merger was George W. Perkins, one of the Morgan executives who Cyrus McCormick described as the "most brilliant negotiator he had ever known." The new company was valued at $150 million.
International Harvester quickly became an industrial titan. By 1909, International Harvester was the 4th largest industrial company in America, measured by assets. In 1917, it was larger than General Electric, Ford, or General Motors, and as large as all its farm implement competitors combined—four times the size of Deere.
The company's most important innovation came in 1924. International Harvester achieved dominance in farm equipment by introducing innovations such as the Farmall tractor in 1924, recognized as the first commercially successful row-crop tractor that enabled versatile cultivation between rows, transforming farming practices.
McCormick-Deering farm implements and Farmall tractors helped IHC become the giant of the industry. Its 1923 U.S. farm equipment sales of $150 million tripled those of second place Deere & Co.
But the Great Depression devastated the company. However, even a corporate giant such as IHC wasn't immune to the calamity of the Great Depression. By 1932, its U.S. sales fell 78 percent, and the price of its stock dropped to $10.37 from a 1929 peak of $142 per share. Tens of thousands of Harvester employees were laid off and remained so through most of the lean 1930s.
The 1980s brought another existential crisis—this time, the farm crisis that would reshape the entire industry.
When Jerome K. Green replaced Guendel in 1979, Case passed the $2 billion mark in revenues. Case started the 1980s with 28,000 employees, but it did not anticipate the recession that would shatter the farming community. Shifting to the construction product line was no rescue, as that industry was equally hard hit. New general purpose tractors had been introduced in 1983 and were languishing. Four more 94 series tractors were unveiled in 1984, but by that point, farms were in a real crisis. Case cut production to 55 percent of capacity and it still exceeded demand. Although overseas sales of construction equipment remained strong during the 1980s, Case's overseas sales did not balance the wounds of the recession in the United States: in 1983, Case lost $68 million, and followed that with a deficit of $105 million in 1984.
International Harvester was in even worse shape. In 1984, Tenneco Case took control of International Harvester's agricultural division. They changed their brand name to Case International at first, and then abbreviated that to Case IH. International Harvester had been in economic turmoil since 1980, but was still one of the largest tractor manufacturers in the world. Merging the two lines brought together the best of both traditions, offering a full line of agricultural equipment, and probably saved both companies from becoming a victim of the 1980s farming recession.
By the fall of 1984, all options had run out, and the banks throughout the world had had enough. Harvester management looked for a buyer, and Tenneco, owner of J.I. Case, was the one that stepped forward. On November 23, 1984, the deal was finalized. Almost three months later, during February 1985, the transaction was completed.
The merger created Case IH, which combined Case's strengths in mid-sized tractors with IH's expertise in large-scale harvesting and full-line offerings, positioning the new entity as the second-largest farm equipment manufacturer globally at the time.
IV. Ford's Bet and Fiat's Ambition (1986–1999)
A. Ford Acquires New Holland
While Case and International Harvester were merging in the Midwest, another major transformation was occurring on the East Coast.
Brief timeline of New Holland Machine Company (founded 1895): 1947: Sperry Corporation acquires New Holland Machine Company (Sperry New Holland); 1986: Ford Motor Company acquires Sperry Corporation.
It retained the Ford name and blue colour for its tractors, and the yellow and red liveries and New Holland name for the harvesting equipment, within a new business unit, Ford New Holland, operating as part of the Ford parent company.
Ford's acquisition gave New Holland access to the resources of one of the world's largest corporations, but Ford's commitment to agriculture would prove short-lived.
B. Fiat's Strategic Entry
By 1990, Ford decided to exit the agricultural equipment business. The buyer waiting in the wings was the Agnelli family's Fiat empire.
In 1990, Ford decided to sell its farm and construction equipment interests, and in 1991 reached agreement with Fiat Group for the sale of Ford New Holland to Fiat Geotech. The merger created a new entity, N.H. Geotech, and it was decided to group the Ford, Fiat and other products under a neutral, globally-recognisable brand, New Holland, with the former Ford and Fiatagri names gradually phased out but the familiar former Fiatagri leaf logo retained.
In 1990, Fiat announced its intent to acquire 80% of Ford New Holland, a division focused on agricultural and construction equipment, culminating in a completed sale in 1991. This transaction merged Ford New Holland with Fiat's agricultural subsidiary, Fiat Trattori, to create New Holland N.V., a new entity that consolidated operations under the New Holland brand while phasing out the Ford and Fiatagri names. Fiat retained majority ownership, with Ford holding a 20% stake initially, marking a shift toward European leadership in the company's global strategy.
The Agnelli family's vision for Fiat had always extended beyond automobiles. Now they were building a global agricultural machinery powerhouse.
C. The Mega-Merger: Birth of CNH Global (1999)
The Agnelli family's next move would create the company that exists today. In 1999, Fiat's New Holland acquired Case Corporation from Tenneco.
CNH Global NV was the holding company for the multinational manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment established on 12 November 1999, through the merger of Case and New Holland.
Under the ownership of Fiat, New Holland N.V. and Case Corporation merged in 1999, giving birth to CNH. Due to antitrust policies, New Holland had to divest Laverda and the Versatile tractor plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The merger brought together brands with combined histories spanning over 150 years. But it also presented enormous integration challenges—keeping distinct brand identities for Case IH and New Holland while achieving the cost synergies that justified the deal.
V. CNH Global Under Fiat Control (1999–2012)
The early 2000s brought strategic expansion and diversification. 2002: A global alliance with Kobelco is signed to bring Kobelco's 40-year expertise in crawler excavator design; 2005: New Holland Construction is launched as a brand; 2007: New Holland Construction produces the 200,000th skid steer loader, 35 years after its first one came off the line.
A critical leadership change came in 2006, when a figure who would reshape the entire Fiat empire took the helm. Sergio Marchionne was an Italian-Canadian businessman, widely known for his turnarounds of the automakers Fiat and Chrysler, his business acumen and his outspoken and often frank approach. Marchionne was the chairman of CNH Industrial, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and the chairman and CEO of Ferrari.
Marchionne's management style was legendary—and often brutal. When Marchionne took over Fiat, he was literally firing one manager a day but there was a leadership problem and nobody wanted to take hard decisions. The communication from bottom to top in management was slow and wrong. He also changed that. He reduced the layers of management and gave his role a more direct view of what the business was doing. And of course his ego is very big and sometimes people who had clashes with him were basically fired. Looking at his style from outside it seems awful, but he delivered.
FIAT Industrial S.p.A. was an Italian company into which FIAT S.p.A. demerged most of its activities not directly related to automobiles at the start of 2011. FIAT Industrial served as a holding company for the activities of truck manufacturer IVECO; an 89.3% stake in the agricultural and construction equipment producer CNH Global; and FPT Industrial. The company's Chairman was Sergio Marchionne.
On 1 January 2011, each existing share of FIAT S.p.A. was converted into one FIAT share and one FIAT Industrial share. This resulted in Exor (the holding company controlled by the Agnelli family), the largest shareholder of FIAT with a stake of around 30%, holding an equivalent stake in FIAT Industrial.
VI. Key Inflection Point #1: The Fiat Industrial Merger (2011–2013)
The creation of CNH Industrial represented Sergio Marchionne's vision for industrial consolidation at its most ambitious.
The creation of CNH Industrial in 2012 saw the merger of two global groups: CNH Global – the holding company for Fiat's agricultural and construction equipment business interests founded on November 12, 1999; and Fiat Industrial – the holding company created on January 1, 2011 for Fiat's truck, bus and industrial vehicle engine activities.
A. Sergio Marchionne's Vision
Marchionne believed scale was essential for survival in capital-intensive industries. The financial details of the merger reflected his determination to simplify the complex Agnelli empire structure.
On 29 September 2013, Fiat Industrial and CNH Global merged to form CNH Industrial N.V., a new leader in trucking, agricultural machinery and construction equipment. The company is headquartered in London, incorporated in the Netherlands, and is listed on the NYSE and Borsa Italiana. Exor remained the controlling shareholder of the new entity.
B. Deal Mechanics
The deal offered meaningful value to minority shareholders while consolidating Agnelli control. Fiat Industrial shareholders received one share of the new company for each Fiat Industrial share, while CNH shareholders received 3.828 shares plus a $10 per share cash dividend—representing a 25.6% premium over Fiat Industrial's initial offer.
2013: CNH merges with parent company FIAT Industrial S.p.A., forming the new CNH Industrial N.V., on 30 September. 2014: the company entered into a new licensing agreement with Sumitomo Construction Machinery and completed acquisition of Miller-St. Nazianz, Inc.
C. The New Industrial Conglomerate
The merged entity became one of the world's largest capital goods companies, with twelve brands spanning agricultural equipment, construction machinery, trucks, buses, and powertrain systems.
A company that was approaching bankruptcy is today three firms with a combined market capitalization of $86 billion. Sergio Marchionne has arguably been the greatest leader of a public company in the world since he took over the Italian company Fiat fourteen years ago.
VII. The Precision Agriculture & Technology Pivot (2014–2021)
The agricultural equipment industry underwent a profound transformation in the 2010s as digital technology, GPS, and artificial intelligence began reshaping how farmers work.
CNH moved aggressively to position itself at the forefront of this revolution. 1995: Case IH introduces AFS Advanced Farming Systems. The system allows farmers to maximize productivity by monitoring yields with satellite technology, an innovative solution for its time.
But the most significant move came in 2021.
Key Inflection Point: Raven Industries Acquisition (2021)
CNH Industrial today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital stock of Raven Industries, Inc., a US-based leader in precision agriculture technology for US$58 per share, representing a 33.6% premium to the Raven Industries 4-week volume-weighted average stock price, and US$2.1 billion Enterprise Value. The transaction will be funded with available cash on hand of CNH Industrial. Closing is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2021. The acquisition builds upon a long partnership between the two companies and will further enhance CNH Industrial's position in the global agriculture equipment market by adding strong innovation capabilities in autonomous and precision agriculture technology.
"Precision agriculture and autonomy are critical components of our strategy to help our agricultural customers reach the next level of productivity and to unlock the true potential of their operations," said Scott Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial. "Raven has been a pioneer in precision agriculture for decades, and their deep product experience, customer driven software expertise and engineering acumen offer a significant boost to our capabilities. This acquisition emphasizes our commitment to enhance our precision farming portfolio and aligns with our digital transformation strategy."
In 2021, Raven was acquired by Case New Holland Industrial (CNHi), the second-largest OEM in the world that designs, manufactures and sells agricultural and construction machinery. What attracted CNHi, who had an annual revenue of $26 billion compared to Raven's $400 million, was the latter's Applied Technology division, which focused on autonomous equipment used in agriculture.
Following the acquisitions, Raven was restructured to focus on precision agriculture and acquired 48 acres to expand its Innovation Campus near Baltic, South Dakota. It offers products and services such as automated tiller, harvester and spreader, tractor autonomy, data centralization, guidance and steering systems, spray applicators, and electronic displays.
VIII. Key Inflection Point #2: The Iveco Spinoff (2022)
A. Strategic Rationale
The decision to separate CNH's agricultural and construction businesses from Iveco's trucks and commercial vehicles had been in the works since 2019.
The companies first announced in 2019 a separation of CNH's on- and off-highway businesses. Since that initial announcement company leaders have been working toward establishing new organization structures and long-term priorities for both businesses.
B. The Pure Play Strategy
CNH Industrial and its former commercial vehicle business IVECO began 2022 as separate businesses. On the first business day of the year, January 3, CNH began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the United States and Borsa Italiana's Euronext Milan in Italy as a fully focused agriculture and construction player. On the Euronext Milan, trading in shares of Iveco Group N.V. began.
"As a pure player in agriculture and construction, we will bring our undivided attention to bear on supporting our customers and dealers. This involves developing innovative products and processes to enhance productivity; accelerate profitable growth; and spearhead our ambitious ESG plans to ensure we act in full respect of people and the planet," said Scott W. Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial.
Each holder of common shares in the share capital of CNHI will receive one common share of IVG for every five CNHI common shares it holds. CNH Industrial's controlling shareholder Exor, the holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, will become Iveco Group's largest shareholder with around 27% of common shares and 42.5% of voting rights.
C. Post-Spinoff Restructuring
The separation enabled CNH to streamline operations significantly. Concurrent with the Iveco spinoff in 2022, the company streamlined its corporate structure and eliminated approximately 20% of managerial positions—a move designed to reduce bureaucracy and speed decision-making in a rapidly evolving competitive landscape.
IX. Modern CNH: The Road to 2030 Strategy (2022–Present)
CNH's A Sustainable Year series returns to spotlight our commitment to a sustainable future. This digital magazine draws inspiration from two key moments for our Company: our Investor Day in May 2025, where we presented the Road to 2030 business strategy, and our most recent Sustainability Report, which highlights our commitment to safer and more responsible operations. Together, they guide the initiatives featured in this edition. The magazine showcases our progress and positive impact – from accelerating product development to advances in precision farming through to autonomous and robotic solutions.
"A clear example is our precision technology strategy, which brings AI-driven automation and smart solutions to our product lines — helping farmers achieve higher yields, use resources more efficiently and operate with greater peace of mind."
To drive this transformation, CNH is focused on generating incremental value for farmers through its expanding technology portfolio. The Company's 2030 strategy is focused on nearly doubling Precision Tech sales as a percentage of Agriculture Net Sales.
The technology roadmap is ambitious. Next-Generation Planters (by 2030) will feature integrated guidance, enhanced automation for precise seed placement, remote software management, and real-time monitoring via our integrated digital platform FieldOps™, reducing labor needs and maximizing uptime. Sense and Act Spraying Portfolio uses AI for targeted Green-on-Brown weed detection and variable rate application, delivering up to 60% in herbicide savings. Green-on-Green Spraying (launching 2027 in North America with One Smart Spray) will reduce herbicide use by up to 80%, supporting sustainability and cost savings.
Combine Automation (2023 Agritechnica Gold Innovation winner) leverages industry leading technologies, using sensors and AI to continuously adjust machine settings, simplifying operations and boosting productivity. In wheat operations, our combine automation delivers €70 more per hectare in net revenue and 7.4% more tons per hour harvested.
CNH's brand portfolio today includes: STEYR, for agricultural tractors; Raven, a leader in digital agriculture, precision technology and the development of autonomous systems; Hemisphere, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-precision satellite-based positioning, and heading technologies; Flexi-Coil, specializing in tillage and seeding systems; Miller, manufacturing application equipment.
X. Competitive Landscape & Industry Analysis
A. Market Position
John Deere remains a dominant player, generating USD 61.5 billion in revenue in 2023, with nearly 60% coming from its agriculture division. Similarly, CNH Industrial and Kubota Corporation reported revenues of USD 22.5 billion and USD 21.3 billion, respectively.
Today, 3 major manufacturers still dominate the market in North America, with Deere claiming 53% of large farm tractors, followed by CNH Industrial at 35% and AGCO at 7%. Deere's lead is even more commanding in the combine segment, with 60% of the market, followed by CNH Industrial at 30% and AGCO at 7%.
Deere & Company held the largest share of the global agriculture equipment market in 2021, with 25.3 percent. CNH Industrial N.V. ranked second with a market share of 12.9 percent.
John Deere, AGCO Corporation, CNH Industrial, and Kubota dominated the U.S. agriculture equipment market with a collective market share of over 60% in 2023. These brands have adopted several strategies to gain traction in the industry.
B. Regional Strengths
CNH's geographic diversification provides resilience. Agriculture sales breakdown is approximately 40% North America, 32% Europe, Middle East, and Africa, 18% South America, and 10% Asia-Pacific.
CNH Industrial boasts a strong global presence, with a particularly robust market share in Europe and South America. The company's strengths lie in its diverse product portfolio and its ability to cater to various farming needs across different regions.
C. Current Challenges
The agricultural equipment market faces significant headwinds as of late 2025. Full year 2024 consolidated revenues were $19.84 billion, down 20% year-over-year, with Net sales of Industrial Activities at $17.06 billion, down 23%. Full year net income was $1,259 million compared to 2023 net income of $2,287 million.
"Our proactive and ongoing efforts to align our business structure with the current industry environment have allowed us to deliver our products with reasonable margin erosion. The challenging market conditions will continue at least through the first half of 2025, and we will keep production levels fairly low by design to drive channel inventory down further. I am confident that our continuing efforts to simplify, streamline, and raise the quality of our operations prepare us well for the regional cycle dynamics ahead."
CNH Industrial reported results for the three months ended September 30, 2025, with net income of $67 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.06 compared with net income of $310 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.24 for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Consolidated revenues were $4.40 billion (down 5% compared to Q3 2024), and net sales of Industrial Activities were $3.70 billion (down 7% compared to Q3 2024).
In addition to the lower cyclical industry sales, the Company is navigating frequent changes in the global trade environment. The August 2025 expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs in the U.S., for example, has created additional exposure for CNH. Mitigation actions, such as working with the supply chain to identify alternative sources, consuming existing inventories, and pricing actions on North American products, have helped partially offset tariff headwinds. Over time, the Company expects to fully offset the tariff impacts with additional mitigation actions. However, in the near term, the Company continues to share the net tariff costs with its customers, which has further negatively impacted CNH's 2025 margins.
"CNH Industrial on Tuesday forecast full-year profit below Wall Street's estimates, and said it expects weak demand for farm equipment to bottom out by the year-end, before picking up in 2026." "The Basildon, UK-based company expects sales to be lower year-over-year in both its agriculture and construction equipment markets in 2025. Farm equipment demand remains subdued due to falling farm incomes globally, forcing farmers to rethink their big-ticket purchases, leading to higher dealership inventories and moderation in restocking efforts."
XI. Porter's Five Forces Analysis
1. Competitive Rivalry: HIGH
For nearly 100 years, consolidation has been taking place in the farm equipment industry. Despite this consolidation, the remaining players compete intensely on technology, dealer networks, and customer loyalty.
The top players—Deere, CNH Industrial, AGCO, Kubota, and CLAAS—all possess significant R&D capabilities and established brand equity. Shorter innovation cycles in precision agriculture and autonomy are creating opportunities for differentiation, but also raising the stakes for continued investment.
2. Threat of New Entrants: LOW-MEDIUM
High capital requirements for manufacturing and the necessity of building dealer networks create substantial barriers. CNH Industrial has a network of more than 11,500 dealers and distributors spread across approximately 170 countries worldwide. Dealers are independent and not owned by CNH Industrial, with the exception of 12 dealerships in North America and Europe.
However, technology startups focusing on autonomous systems, electric tractors, and precision ag software represent potential disruptors. Companies like Monarch Tractor and other EV-focused entrants are targeting specific niches.
3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: MEDIUM
The agriculture equipment market continues to face significant disruptions due to lingering supply chain issues, geopolitical tensions, and rising raw material costs. For instance, in 2023, John Deere reported production delays of up to six months, citing semiconductor shortages and higher steel prices as major factors.
The global supply chain complexity and concentration of key components (particularly electronics and semiconductors) give certain suppliers meaningful leverage.
4. Bargaining Power of Buyers: MEDIUM-HIGH
Large-scale farming operations have significant purchasing power and long equipment lifecycles provide buyers with flexibility on timing. The equipment sales registered significant decreases across most key markets in 2024 and are likely to remain on the softer side through 2025 due to continued pressure on farm incomes and a relatively low average age for the in-service fleet across traditional markets.
Farm income volatility directly impacts purchasing decisions, giving farmers meaningful power to defer purchases during downturns.
5. Threat of Substitutes: LOW
No direct substitute exists for mechanized farming, though precision technology is creating new competitive dynamics. Interoperability standards still lag, generating vendor lock-in that favors incumbents with end-to-end ecosystems.
XII. Hamilton's 7 Powers Framework Analysis
1. Scale Economies: STRONG
CNH Industrial manufacturing base includes 37 facilities in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia. The company operates forty production sites and 49 R&D centers spread across four continents, enabling manufacturing efficiency from decades of consolidation.
2. Network Effects: MODERATE
Dealer networks create local ecosystems, and digital platforms (telematics, precision ag) are beginning to create data network effects. The commercially available CNH technologies listed above are fully integrated and enhanced through the FieldOps™ Digital Farm Management Platform, providing real-time data, fleet management, and remote support for customers of CNH brands Case IH, New Holland, and STEYR. This open digital ecosystem allows users to integrate with third parties such as agronomists and seed suppliers.
3. Counter-Positioning: LOW
CNH's business model is largely similar to competitors like Deere and AGCO, limiting counter-positioning advantages.
4. Switching Costs: MODERATE-HIGH
Equipment-specific implements, dealer relationships, and increasingly, proprietary digital platforms create meaningful switching costs. Furthermore, dealers are equipped with CNH's AI Tech Assistant to facilitate predictive maintenance and faster issue resolution.
5. Branding: STRONG
Case IH and New Holland possess over 175 years of combined heritage. Farmer loyalty to these brands runs deep, particularly in their respective geographic strongholds.
6. Cornered Resource: MODERATE
The Raven acquisition provided CNH with unique autonomous driving capabilities. However, competitors are making similar acquisitions.
7. Process Power: MODERATE
Lean manufacturing initiatives and cost reduction programs demonstrate operational discipline, but these are table stakes in the industry rather than unique advantages.
XIII. Bull Case and Bear Case
The Bull Case
Precision Agriculture Adoption Accelerates: The transition to autonomous and AI-driven farming represents a generational opportunity. CNH's 2030 strategy to nearly double Precision Tech sales as a percentage of Agriculture Net Sales positions the company to capture significant value as farmers adopt smart technologies.
Cyclical Recovery on the Horizon: "CNH expects the industry to start bottoming in 2025, adding that it expects retail demand in North America to increase gradually in 2026." The current downturn has compressed valuations, potentially offering attractive entry points for long-term investors.
Disciplined Cost Management: Management has demonstrated ability to reduce costs during downturns. The 20% reduction in managerial positions post-Iveco spinoff and ongoing lean manufacturing initiatives position the company to expand margins when volumes recover.
Strong Global Position: Number two market share globally, with particularly strong positions in Europe and South America, provides diversification against regional downturns.
The Bear Case
Structural Competitive Disadvantage vs. Deere: John Deere's approximately 2:1 revenue advantage enables greater R&D spending and technology investment. The precision agriculture race is capital-intensive, and CNH may struggle to match Deere's pace of innovation.
Tariff and Trade Policy Uncertainty: "However, in the near term, the Company continues to share the net tariff costs with its customers, which has further negatively impacted CNH's 2025 margins. The Company is therefore updating its 2025 outlook."
Farm Income Pressure May Persist: Low commodity prices, high input costs, and geopolitical uncertainty may suppress farmer equipment purchases longer than anticipated.
Complexity Risk: Despite the Iveco spinoff, CNH remains a multi-brand organization requiring careful management of distinct brand identities while achieving operational synergies.
XIV. Key KPIs for Ongoing Monitoring
For investors tracking CNH Industrial's ongoing performance, three metrics deserve particular attention:
1. Dealer Inventory Levels (Days of Supply) This metric reflects the balance between production and retail demand. Elevated dealer inventories signal potential pricing pressure and production cuts ahead. Management's target of reducing dealer inventory by $700+ million quarterly demonstrates its importance to the business cycle.
2. Precision Technology Attachment Rate As CNH executes its 2030 strategy to nearly double Precision Tech sales as a percentage of Agriculture Net Sales, the percentage of new equipment sold with precision technology options provides insight into technology adoption momentum and the company's competitive position in the race for the autonomous farming future.
3. Agriculture Segment Adjusted EBIT Margin This metric captures operational efficiency during cyclical swings. Current guidance of 7-9% for 2025 compares to historical peaks above 11%. Margin trajectory indicates management's ability to control costs during downturns and capture operating leverage during recoveries.
XV. Investment Considerations
CNH Industrial presents a compelling case study in industrial consolidation, demonstrating how visionary entrepreneurs, relentless deal-making, and family dynasty stewardship can create a global powerhouse from 19th-century blacksmith shops and threshing machine makers.
The company's current challenges—cyclical downturn, trade policy uncertainty, and intense competition—are real but likely transitory. The agricultural equipment industry's fundamental drivers remain intact: global population growth, food security imperatives, and the relentless march toward precision and autonomous farming.
However, investors should weigh the structural competitive dynamics carefully. John Deere's scale advantages in R&D and dealer network density are not easily overcome. CNH's path to sustained value creation likely depends on successful execution of its technology roadmap and disciplined capital allocation through the cycle.
The company is currently navigating a challenging downturn, but its strong brand portfolio, cost-saving initiatives, and strategic investments position it well for the eventual recovery. For long-term investors, CNH offers a compelling risk-reward profile, particularly if the stock price declines further in 2025. While the near-term outlook remains uncertain, the structural growth tailwinds in the agriculture sector and the company's commitment to innovation make CNH a stock worth watching.
The story of CNH Industrial—from Jerome Case's threshing machines to AI-driven autonomous tractors—embodies 180 years of agricultural innovation. Whether the next chapter delivers comparable value creation will depend on management's ability to navigate industry headwinds while positioning for the technological revolution transforming how the world feeds itself.
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XVI. The Agnelli Dynasty: Governance, Control, and Long-Term Stewardship
Understanding CNH Industrial requires understanding the family that controls it. The Agnelli family's control over its business empire is maintained through a layered structure of holding companies designed to concentrate voting power and facilitate generational inheritance while minimizing dilution from broader family branches.
As of June 2025, Exor holds 26.9% of CNH Industrial's economic rights and 45.3% of voting rights. This disparity between economic ownership and voting control is deliberate—a hallmark of the Agnelli approach to maintaining family influence while allowing for public investment.
Exor is incorporated in the Netherlands, listed on Euronext Amsterdam, and controlled through the privately held company Giovanni Agnelli BV, which is owned by members of the extended Agnelli family. The current structure traces back through layers of holdings: Dicembre is the major shareholder in Giovanni Agnelli BV, which, in turn, controls significant companies like Exor, Stellantis, Ferrari, CNH Industrial, and Juventus.
John Elkann, born in 1976, is the CEO of Exor, an investment company controlled by the Agnelli family, which controls Stellantis, CNH Industrial, Ferrari, Juventus FC, Cushman & Wakefield and the Economist Group. He was chosen as heir to the family empire in 1997 by his grandfather Gianni Agnelli, who died in 2003.
The family's governance philosophy emphasizes patient capital and long-term value creation over short-term returns. This dominance exemplified the concentrated family-controlled ownership structures prevalent in Italian capitalism, where the Agnellis maintained effective control through layered holding companies like IFI despite holding minority direct stakes, enabling strategic decisions that prioritized long-term national industrial growth over short-term shareholder pressures.
This long-term orientation has shaped CNH Industrial's strategic evolution—from the patient accumulation of agricultural equipment brands over decades to the willingness to execute complex mergers and spinoffs like the Iveco separation.
CNH Industrial's executive leadership is currently headed by Chief Executive Officer Gerrit Marx, who assumed the role in July 2024 after serving as CEO of Iveco Group, bringing over 25 years of experience in industrial and automotive sectors. Key executives include Chief Financial Officer James Nickolas, appointed effective May 6, 2025, with more than 30 years in corporate finance, M&A, and strategy from roles at Honeywell and Johnson Controls.
The relationship between the Agnelli family and CNH's management reflects a model common to European family-controlled conglomerates: professional managers execute day-to-day operations while the controlling family maintains strategic oversight through board representation and controlling voting stakes.
XVII. The Autonomous Future: Technology Roadmap and Competitive Positioning
The agricultural equipment industry stands at an inflection point as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and precision technologies promise to transform farming as fundamentally as Jerome Case's threshing machines did 180 years ago.
CNH is building a connected, intelligent ecosystem powered by intelligence and autonomy. The company's vision is clear: to create predictive, sustainable systems that help farmers see ahead, act smarter, and produce more with less. Because the defining challenge of our time is urgent and universal—to feed more people with less land, under harder conditions than ever before.
Electric and Autonomous Tractors
CNH Industrial has made a significant leap in sustainable farming technology with the New Holland T4 Electric Power tractor. As the industry's first all-electric light utility tractor with autonomous features, it offers up to a full day of operation on a single charge and fast recharging capabilities.
Key features include remote activation via a smartphone app, Shadow Follow Me mode, and a 360-degree perception system for obstacle detection, all designed to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
What makes the T4 Electric a world first, the company asserted, is its autonomous-ready features. The tractor can be operated using an app on Android or iOS devices, and up to six machines can be operated together, avoiding the others' path automatically during whole-field operations.
Strategic Partnerships in Autonomy
CNH has pursued a multi-pronged approach to autonomous technology, combining internal development with strategic partnerships. New Holland and Bluewhite announced a multi-phase partnership to collaborate on distribution, manufacturing and integration of Bluewhite's autonomous solutions for New Holland tractors in North America. This partnership will enable New Holland tractors to operate fully autonomously in orchards, vineyards and other specialty crop operations.
The company is developing a single, unified tech stack that will be applied across multiple vehicles and applications. This approach allows CNH to customize use cases for specific needs and applications while maintaining consistency, building from a common core tech stack. The internal development focus and first autonomous offering will be in the cash crop segment.
Competing with Deere
The race for autonomous farming leadership pits CNH against its larger rival John Deere, which has invested heavily in precision agriculture and autonomous systems. The primary threat is the velocity of competitors, especially Deere, which has invested heavily in this domain.
CNH's core strength is its proprietary data from a massive installed base, combined with Raven's AI capabilities—a potent combination. However, the company must overcome internal weaknesses like data silos and the intense war for AI talent.
OEMs such as John Deere, CNH Industrial, and AGCO are investing heavily in integrating precision hardware and software into planters, creating new recurring revenue streams through retrofit kits, data subscriptions, and after-sales service. This shift is driving consolidation in the equipment industry, as larger players acquire specialized tech firms to stay competitive.
XVIII. The Investment Thesis: Weighing Risk and Reward
Structural Advantages
CNH Industrial possesses several durable competitive advantages that should sustain its market position through industry cycles:
Brand Heritage and Customer Loyalty: With brands tracing back to the 1840s, CNH benefits from deep farmer loyalty, particularly in specific regions and farming segments. Case IH dominates in row-crop farming in the American Midwest, while New Holland holds strong positions in dairy operations and specialty crops.
Global Diversification: Geographically, agriculture sales are 40% North America, 32% Europe, Middle East, and Africa, 18% South America, and 10% Asia-Pacific. This diversification provides natural hedges against regional agricultural downturns.
Dealer Network Depth: CNH Industrial has a network of more than 11,500 dealers and distributors spread across approximately 170 countries worldwide. Dealers are independent and not owned by CNH Industrial, with the exception of 12 dealerships in North America and Europe.
Financial Services Integration: The company's captive finance arm provides meaningful support for equipment sales while generating recurring revenue through interest income.
Structural Challenges
However, CNH faces persistent challenges that investors must weigh:
Scale Disadvantage vs. Deere: John Deere remains a dominant player, generating USD 61.5 billion in revenue in 2023, with nearly 60% coming from its agriculture division. Similarly, CNH Industrial and Kubota Corporation reported revenues of USD 22.5 billion and USD 21.3 billion, respectively. Deere's roughly 2.7:1 revenue advantage enables greater R&D spending, more extensive dealer support programs, and larger marketing budgets.
Market Share Gap: The gap between CNH and Deere has proven difficult to close. In North American large farm tractors, Deere holds 53% market share versus CNH's 35%—a ratio that has remained relatively stable despite CNH's investments in technology and product development.
Cyclicality: Agricultural equipment sales remain highly cyclical, driven by farm income, commodity prices, and equipment age. The current downcycle demonstrates how quickly revenues and margins can compress when farmers defer purchases.
Valuation Considerations
As of September 30, 2025, CNH Industrial's stock price was $10.85, with a current market cap of $13.6 billion with 1.25 billion shares.
At these levels, CNH trades at a significant discount to historical valuations and to peers, reflecting market pessimism about the cyclical downturn's duration and CNH's competitive position. For value-oriented investors, this discount may represent an opportunity—but only if the company can execute its technology roadmap while maintaining financial discipline through the downturn.
XIX. Lessons from 180 Years of Agricultural Equipment
The CNH Industrial story offers several enduring lessons about industrial competition, consolidation, and value creation:
Consolidation as Survival Strategy
The farm equipment industry has been consolidating for over a century. From hundreds of manufacturers in the early 1900s to essentially three major players in North America today, the industry has consistently rewarded scale. Industry giants like John Deere, AGCO Corporation, and CNH Industrial drive intense competition with innovative products and extensive distribution networks, shaping the market's evolving dynamics through technological advancements and regulatory changes.
CNH exists because of this consolidation imperative. Case merged with International Harvester to survive the 1980s farm crisis. Ford sold its tractor business because it couldn't achieve sufficient scale. Fiat acquired New Holland and Case to build a global agricultural equipment presence. Each transaction responded to the same fundamental dynamic: this is an industry where scale provides meaningful advantages in R&D, manufacturing, dealer support, and financial services.
The Value of Patient Capital
The Agnelli family's multi-generational approach to CNH contrasts sharply with the short-term orientation of many public market investors. Over the years the corporate structure of the group has changed, with its largest shareholder remaining Exor, the Fiat-founding Agnelli family's investment vehicle.
This patient capital enabled CNH to make transformative acquisitions like Raven Industries, weather cyclical downturns without panic, and maintain R&D investments during difficult periods. The counterpoint is that this same long-term orientation may have contributed to CNH falling behind Deere in precision agriculture during the 2010s—a gap the company is now racing to close.
Technology as Competitive Battleground
Jerome Case's innovation was mechanical—a better threshing machine. Today's battleground is digital—autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, precision application, and data analytics. The companies that win the technology race will likely dominate the industry for the next generation, just as Case and International Harvester dominated their era through mechanical innovation.
CNH's AI strategy must be ruthlessly focused: unify its data assets, target specific, high-value use cases like autonomy and predictive service, and build a culture that attracts and retains the specialized talent required to win.
XX. Conclusion: The Next Chapter
From Jerome Case's crude threshing machine in 1842 to AI-powered autonomous tractors in 2025, the agricultural equipment industry has undergone continuous transformation. CNH Industrial stands as a testament to both the power of consolidation and the challenges of competing against a larger, better-resourced rival.
The company's heritage is unmatched—combining the pioneering spirit of American agricultural innovators with the industrial sophistication and patient capital of one of Europe's most successful business dynasties. Case IH and New Holland remain trusted names among farmers worldwide, backed by a dealer network spanning 170 countries and a manufacturing footprint across four continents.
Yet heritage alone cannot guarantee future success. CNH faces a formidable challenge: closing the technology gap with John Deere while navigating a cyclical downturn that has compressed revenues and margins. The company's Road to 2030 strategy represents management's response—a bet that precision agriculture and autonomous systems will create new value pools that CNH can capture.
The next five years will prove decisive. If CNH successfully executes its technology roadmap, maintains financial discipline through the downturn, and positions itself for the cyclical recovery that inevitably follows, the company could emerge as a stronger competitor to Deere than it has been in decades. If execution falters or Deere extends its technology lead, CNH risks permanent relegation to a distant second place in an industry that rewards scale above all else.
For students of business history, CNH Industrial offers a masterclass in industrial consolidation, family capitalism, and technological disruption. For investors, it represents a classic risk-reward tradeoff: a company trading at distressed valuations with genuine turnaround potential, but facing structural competitive disadvantages that may limit its ultimate upside.
The story of CNH Industrial—from blacksmith shops and threshing machines to AI-driven autonomous farming—embodies nearly two centuries of agricultural innovation. Whether the next chapter proves as successful as the first depends on management's ability to honor that heritage while boldly embracing the technological revolution transforming how humanity feeds itself.
The farmers who will ultimately decide CNH's fate are the same ones Jerome Case served in 1842: practical people who need reliable equipment that helps them produce more with less. That fundamental truth hasn't changed in 180 years, and it remains the North Star that should guide CNH Industrial's strategy for the next 180.
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