CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CF logged first-quarter 2025 earnings of $1.85 per share, up from $1.03 in the year-ago quarter. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47.

Net sales rose around 13% year over year to $1,663 million in the quarter. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,520.9 million.

Average selling prices for most of CF’s key products increased year over year in the reported quarter as higher global energy costs raised the global market-clearing price needed to meet global demand. Sales volumes for most of its major products were higher year over year due to increased supply availability from higher production.

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseCF Industries Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Quote

CF’s Segment Review

Net sales in the Ammonia segment increased around 29% year over year to $520 million in the reported quarter. It topped our estimate of $482 million. Average selling price per product ton was $454, which was higher than our estimate of $413. 

Sales in the Granular Urea segment went up around 8% year over year to $439 million. It beat our estimate of $420 million. Average selling price per product ton was $390, which was below our estimate of $403. 

Sales in the Urea Ammonium Nitrate segment rose around 11% year over year to $470 million. It beat our estimate of $373 million. Average selling price per product ton was $251, which surpassed our estimate of $230. 

Sales in the Ammonium Nitrate segment fell around 11% year over year to $101 million. It missed our estimate of $107 million. Average selling price per product ton was $308, which outpaced our estimate of $270.

CF’s Financials

CF Industries ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,406 million, down around 13% from the prior quarter. Long-term debt was $2,972 million, flat sequentially.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $586 million in the reported quarter, up around 32% year over year.

CF repurchased 5.4 million shares worth $434 million during the first quarter. Its board authorized a new $2 billion share repurchase program, effective through 2029.

CF’s Outlook

The company anticipates the global supply-demand balance to remain constructive in the near term due to expected strong demand from the global corn stocks-to-use ratio reaching its lowest level since 2013, as well as challenging production economics in Europe.

In North America, CF expects strong nitrogen demand during the spring application season due to favorable returns for corn compared to soybeans, driving higher year-over-year planted corn acres in 2025.

Story Continues

CF’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of CF Industries have gained 8.6% in the past year compared with the Zacks Fertilizers industry’s 5.1% rise.Zacks Investment Research

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CF’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

CF currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Hawkins, Inc. HWKN, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM and Contango Ore, Inc. CTGO, each carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hawkins is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on May 14. The consensus estimate for Hawkins’ fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 74 cents. HWKN beat the consensus estimate in one of the last four quarters while missing thrice, with the average earnings surprise being 6.1%. 

Avino Silver & Gold Mines is slated to release first-quarter results on May 13. The consensus estimate for ASM’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at 3 cents. ASM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 94.4%, on average. 

Contango is scheduled to report first-quarter results on May 14. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTGO’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 32 cents per share. CTGO beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing it once, with the average surprise being 213.7%.

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