CF Industries nine-month profit rises to $1.78 billion

CF Industries Holdings reported first-nine-month 2026 net earnings of $1.78 billion, or $11.60 per diluted share, up from $1.05 billion a year earlier. The company said the period includes a gain of about $170 million from a litigation settlement.

Third-quarter net earnings were $436 million, or $2.87 a diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA reached $833 million, compared with $667 million a year earlier, on net sales of $1.86 billion and volumes 7% higher.

Chief executive Chris Bohn said the team ran the network at high rates to meet “substantial deferred customer demand.” Gross ammonia output was about 7.2 million tons for the nine months, with year-to-date utilization of 97% of available ammonia capacity.

CF said only about half of average Middle East urea exports have left the Persian Gulf since the conflict with Iran began, and expects supply from the region to stay below pre-conflict levels. It estimates about 37% of Europe’s nameplate ammonia capacity was offline or running at reduced rates in October, and that about 35% of Trinidad’s ammonia capacity is being permanently shut.

The Yazoo City, Mississippi, complex remains offline after a November 2025 incident, with a restart expected in the first half of 2027. Blue Point One, a low-carbon ammonia joint venture with JERA and Mitsui in which CF holds 40%, is under construction in Louisiana.

The company repurchased 5.2 million shares for $612 million in the first nine months. It projects 2026 capital expenditures of about $1.3 billion, including Blue Point One.

The second-quarter results showed a similar pattern, with higher nitrogen prices helping profit nearly double from a year earlier.