4Q Earnings Analysis: How These 8 Fertilizer Companies Stacked Up

With the 4Q17 earnings season behind us, it’s time to take a closer look at how fertilizer companies (MOO) performed in the recent quarter.

As the above chart shows, four fertilizer companies posted year-over-year gains in EPS (earnings per share), while four delivered a year-over-year decline. Among the gainers, Mosaic’s (MOS) EPS rose as much as 30% to $0.34 from $0.26 a year ago. Israel Chemicals (ICL) reported EPS of $0.11, a rise of $0.09 over a year ago.

While CF Industries (CF) and Intrepid Potash (IPI) reported a loss per share in 4Q17, it was better than last year. CF Industries delivered a loss per share of $0.02 compared to a loss per share of $0.39 last year, while Intrepid Potash’s loss per share fell from $0.19 to $0.03.

The companies reporting a year-over-year decline in earnings include Terra Nitrogen (TNH), which reported adjusted EPS of $1.44, down from $1.85. Nutrien (NTR), the entity that formed with the merger of PotashCorp and Agrium, also saw a decline in earnings year-over-year. For example, PotashCorp (POT) reported a loss per share of $0.09 from EPS of $0.05, and Agrium (AGU) reported EPS of $0.19, down from $0.5.

In this series, we’ll discuss the performance of each of these companies side by side. We’ll primarily discuss the key revenue drivers, shipments and realized prices, along with the gross margins of each of the companies’ NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) segments.