Neharika Jain
2 min read
In This Article:
Northbrook, Illinois-based CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) manufactures and sells hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities. Valued at a market cap of $17 billion, the company also offers diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, nitric acid, and aqua ammonia products.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically classified as “large-cap stocks,” and CF fits the label perfectly, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the agricultural inputs industry. The company's vertically integrated operations, with strategically located plants and extensive storage and distribution infrastructure, allow it to serve both agricultural and industrial customers reliably. Beyond fertilizers, it is also emerging as a leader in clean energy solutions, investing heavily in low-carbon and green ammonia, positioning itself to play a major role in the global energy transition.
This nitrogenous fertilizer manufacturing company is currently trading 3.9% below its 52-week high of $104.45, reached on Jun. 16. CF has surged 30.5% over the past three months, considerably outpacing the iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF’s (IYM) marginal uptick during the same time frame.
In the longer term, CF has rallied 35.4% over the past 52 weeks, considerably outperforming IYM’s 4% decline over the same time frame. Moreover, on a YTD basis, shares of CF are up 17.6%, compared to IYM’s 4.8% return.
To confirm its bullish trend, CF has been trading above its 200-day moving average since early May, and has remained above its 50-day moving average since late April.
On May 7, CF reported strong Q1 results, prompting its share price to close up marginally in the following trading session. The company’s revenue grew 13.1% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, surpassing the consensus estimates by a notable 9.2%. Moreover, due to a solid 660 basis-points expansion in its gross profit margin, its net income per share of $1.85 improved 79.6% from the year-ago quarter and exceeded the forecasted figure by 25.9%. Its adjusted EBITDA reached $644 million, up 40.3% from the same period last year. This strong performance was supported by a favourable global nitrogen environment, with solid agricultural and industrial demand, coupled with higher average selling prices across most of CF’s key products.
