In This Article:
The Mosaic Company MOS reported sales volumes and revenues by business unit for October and November 2024. While sales volumes were down for both potash and phosphate, MOS witnessed improved sales volumes in Mosaic Fertilizantes.
Potash sales volumes reached 1,228,000 tons in October and November 2024, down from 1,638,000 tons in the same period last year. Potash revenues slumped 41% year over year to $299 million from $506 million a year ago.
The first two months of the fourth quarter of 2024 saw a delay in Canpotex shipments due to Canadian rail and port strikes, leading to lower volumes. However, this is expected to be resolved by the quarter's end. Potash revenues in the first two months of the fourth quarter were affected by Canpotex logistical expenditures to offset the impact of the volume losses due to strikes.
In the phosphate segment, October and November 2024 sales volume was 946,000 tons, down 7% from 1,019,000 tons in the prior year. The decline reflects the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Despite this setback, revenues for the two months increased to $680 million from $677 million in the comparable period last year.
Mosaic Fertilizantes’ sales volume increased to 1,640,000 tons in October and November 2024 from 1,472,000 tons in the same period in 2023. Revenues rose to $823 million from $811 million in the October-November period last year.
This provides an idea of how the company will fare in its fourth-quarter results. The potash segment’s revenues will bear the brunt of the rail and port strikes, which will be slightly offset by improved results at phosphates and Mosaic Fertilizantes.
MOS Stock’s Price Performance
Shares of Mosaic have lost 33.3% in the past year compared with the 19.5% decline in the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Mosaic’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Mosaic currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, New Gold Inc. NGD and CF Industries Inc. CF.
Carpenter Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. The company's shares have soared 145.3% in the past year.
New Gold, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), beat the consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once. In this time frame, it delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 37.5%, on average. NGD’s shares have gained 72.6% over the past year.
CF, which currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2, beat the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise being 10.3%. CF has gained around 6.8% in the past year.