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CF Industries Holdings, Inc.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 5 August 2026: press release. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Second-quarter profit and EBITDA rose: Second-quarter net earnings were $727 million, or $4.73 per diluted share, against $386 million, or $2.37. Adjusted EBITDA was $1,192 million against $761 million.
  • First half boosted by litigation gain: First-half net earnings were $1.34 billion, or $8.71 per diluted share, and include a litigation settlement gain of about $170 million.
  • Gross margin rose to 51.5%: Gross margin was $1,145 million, or 51.5% of net sales, against 39.9% a year earlier. First-half gross margin was 44.9% against 37.3%.
  • Nitrogen prices returned to pre-conflict levels: Prices rose from mid-February into the second quarter as the Iran conflict tightened supply, then returned to pre-conflict levels by quarter-end as Northern Hemisphere demand seasonally fell.
  • Middle East supply cut by conflict: Management estimates the Iran conflict has cut Middle East traded nitrogen supply by 4.0 to 4.5 million metric tons of urea and about 1 million metric tons of ammonia to date.
  • Cash rose to $2.48 billion: Cash at June 30 was $2.48 billion, up from $1.98 billion at December 31, 2025. $341 million of it was held by the Blue Point One joint venture.
  • Blue Point One ownership split: CF holds 40% of the Blue Point One joint venture, JERA 35% and Mitsui 25%. The joint venture is consolidated, and the partners' 60% appears as noncontrolling interests.

“The CF Industries team operated safely and delivered excellent operational results despite rapidly changing customer dynamics”

Chris Bohn, president and chief executive officer, CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Gross ammonia productionfull year 2026approximately 9.5 million tons
Capital expenditures, total including Blue Point One joint venturefull year 2026approximately $1.3 billion
CF-funded capital expendituresfull year 2026approximately $950 million
Blue Point One joint venture capital expendituresfull year 2026approximately $600 million
Blue Point common facilities capital expendituresfull year 2026approximately $150 million
Capitalized interestfull year 2026approximately $40 million
Blue Point One CF estimated contribution SourceBlue Point One project$1.5B + $550M common facilities
Mid-cycle EBITDA Sourcearound 2030~$3.3B
Adjusted EBITDA sensitivity to urea price Sourceannual~$800M per $50/ton change
Chinese urea exports20264-6 million metric tons

What changed from last quarter

  • New: Quarterly dividend raised 20% to $0.60 per share, declared in July 2026. Source
  • New: Permits needed to start construction at the Blue Point Complex were received in July 2026.
  • New: A front-end engineering and design study was started with thyssenkrupp Uhde for a urea liquor upgrade plant at Courtright.

Results and growth drivers

  • Second-quarter profit and EBITDA rose: Second-quarter net earnings were $727 million, or $4.73 per diluted share, against $386 million, or $2.37. Adjusted EBITDA was $1,192 million against $761 million.
  • Volumes fell, prices rose across segments: Sales volumes fell 15% from a year earlier, mainly on lower UAN, AN and ammonia sales. Average selling prices were higher for all segments.
  • Yazoo City loss cut volumes further: Excluding lost Yazoo City product availability, second-quarter volumes were about 9% lower and first-half volumes about 5% lower.
  • First half boosted by litigation gain: First-half net earnings were $1.34 billion, or $8.71 per diluted share, and include a litigation settlement gain of about $170 million.
  • Net sales grew on higher pricing: Second-quarter net sales were $2.22 billion, up from $1.89 billion. First-half net sales were $4.21 billion against $3.55 billion.

Segments and regions

  • Ammonia gross margin rose: Ammonia second-quarter net sales were $586 million against $491 million. Gross margin was $229 million against $136 million; average price $677 per product ton against $452.
  • Granular urea gross margin rose: Granular urea second-quarter net sales were $759 million against $547 million. Gross margin was $477 million against $279 million, on volume of 1,280 thousand tons against 1,188 thousand.
  • UAN sales held as volume fell: UAN second-quarter net sales were $613 million against $610 million. Gross margin was $350 million against $270 million, on volume of 1,391 thousand tons against 1,902 thousand.
  • AN sales and margin declined: AN second-quarter net sales were $71 million against $117 million. Gross margin was $(4) million against $25 million, on volume of 129 thousand tons against 378 thousand.
  • Other segment sales and margin rose: Other second-quarter net sales were $193 million against $125 million. Gross margin was $93 million against $45 million, on volume of 587 thousand tons against 466 thousand.

“CF Industries will continue to generate substantial free cash flow, enabling us to build on our strong track record of investing in high-return initiatives and returning capital to shareholders through share repurchases and our increased quarterly dividend”

Chris Bohn, president and chief executive officer, CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Products and customers

  • Granular urea volume rose on inventory: First-half granular urea volume rose on higher starting inventory and a production mix favoring granular urea, per management.
  • Phosphate-related ammonia demand lower: First-half ammonia volumes were lower, mainly on lower global demand for ammonia used in phosphate fertilizer production and planned maintenance.
  • UAN volume lower on demand and mix: First-half UAN volumes decreased on lower global demand and a production mix favoring granular urea.
  • North American fill programs drew uptake: Management cited July uptake of ammonia and UAN fill programs and below-average channel inventory, and expects firm North American demand for the 2027 season.
  • Other volumes rose on DEF and acid: Other segment volumes rose in the first half on higher DEF and nitric acid sales.

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Gross margin rose to 51.5%: Gross margin was $1,145 million, or 51.5% of net sales, against 39.9% a year earlier. First-half gross margin was 44.9% against 37.3%.
  • Price gains outweighed volume losses: Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA bridge: price +$588 million, volume -$158 million, realized gas cost +$3 million; other items netted to -$2 million. Source
  • Natural gas cost flat in quarter: Gas in cost of sales averaged $3.37 per MMBtu in the second quarter against $3.36. Henry Hub averaged $2.93 against $3.16. First-half cost was $4.01 against $3.52.
  • Second-quarter cost of sales fell: Second-quarter cost of sales was $1,077 million against $1,135 million, mainly from lower sales volumes.
  • Interest and tax costs rose: SG&A was $89 million against $101 million. Interest expense was $50 million against $36 million; income tax provision was $224 million against $143 million.

“Outstanding operational performance in a tight global nitrogen supply - demand balance delivers strong financial results”

CF Industries Holdings, Inc., press release

Operations and the Yazoo City outage

  • Yazoo City outage follows 2025 incident: Yazoo City, Mississippi, remains in outage after an incident in November 2025, and the outage is reflected in 2026 production and first-half costs.
  • Second-quarter asset impairment recorded: The second quarter included a $23 million asset impairment for property, plant and equipment at the Donaldsonville and Yazoo City complexes. Source
  • Maintenance raised first-half costs: First-half cost of sales rose on higher maintenance costs, including the extended Yazoo City outage, along with higher realized natural gas costs.

Demand and market

  • Nitrogen prices returned to pre-conflict levels: Prices rose from mid-February into the second quarter as the Iran conflict tightened supply, then returned to pre-conflict levels by quarter-end as Northern Hemisphere demand seasonally fell.
  • Middle East supply cut by conflict: Management estimates the Iran conflict has cut Middle East traded nitrogen supply by 4.0 to 4.5 million metric tons of urea and about 1 million metric tons of ammonia to date.
  • Supply constrained into 2027: Management expects nitrogen supply to stay constrained and demand to stay constructive through 2026 and into 2027, citing 2026 production disruptions and grain stocks-to-use ratios.
  • Imports expected to recover in Asia: India, Southeast Asia and others that deferred purchases may import at or above second-half 2025 levels. Brazilian imports are projected to be robust in second-half 2026.
  • Capacity additions seen lagging demand: Management expects capacity under construction not to keep pace with demand growth over four years, and says new capacity costs have risen in low-cost gas regions.

Capital, cash and returns to shareholders

  • Cash rose to $2.48 billion: Cash at June 30 was $2.48 billion, up from $1.98 billion at December 31, 2025. $341 million of it was held by the Blue Point One joint venture.
  • Trailing free cash flow of $1.82 billion: Trailing twelve-month operating cash flow was $2.98 billion and free cash flow $1.82 billion, about 50% of adjusted EBITDA. Free cash flow yield was 11.1%.
  • Second-quarter share repurchases reported: The release reports 2.0 million shares repurchased for $230 million in the quarter; the presentation gives $225 million for the same repurchases.
  • Repurchase authority remaining: About $1.48 billion remains under the program at June 30; the presentation rounds this to $1.5 billion. The program expires in December 2029.
  • Partner contributions and distributions: First-half contributions from noncontrolling interests were $233 million, and distributions to them were $201 million.
  • CHS distribution paid July 31: The board of CF Industries Nitrogen approved a $246 million semi-annual distribution to CHS for the period ended June 30, paid on July 31.

Strategy and investment

  • Blue Point One ownership split: CF holds 40% of the Blue Point One joint venture, JERA 35% and Mitsui 25%. The joint venture is consolidated, and the partners' 60% appears as noncontrolling interests.
  • Blue Point One facility scope: The joint venture is building an autothermal reforming ammonia plant with CO2 dehydration and compression, and CF builds shared infrastructure for storage and loading.
  • Decarbonization and margin initiatives: Presentation lists strategic initiatives as monetizing decarbonization through 45Q tax credits, a low-carbon product premium, the Blue Point One joint venture and margin enhancement projects. Source

Coming up, as management said on 5 August 2026

  • Blue Point construction starts August: Construction at the Blue Point Complex is set to begin in August 2026. Source
  • Yazoo City restart in first half 2027: Management expects Yazoo City to resume ammonia, ammonium nitrate, nitric acid, UAN and urea liquor production during the first half of 2027.
  • Courtright DEF investment decision in 2027: A final investment decision on a DEF expansion at Courtright, adding more than 400,000 tons per year, is expected in 2027 if reached.
  • Dividend payment and record dates: The declared quarterly dividend is paid August 31, 2026, to holders of record on August 14, 2026.

Figures management reported

FigureReported
Available ammonia capacity utilization98% (first half 2026)
Recordable incident rate, trailing twelve months0.16 per 200,000 work hours
Gross ammonia production2.4 million tons (Q2); 4.9 million tons (first half)
Sales volume by product tons4,252 thousand (Q2); 8,935 thousand (first half)

Risks management discussed

  • Operational: Restoration cost at Yazoo City is still being estimated; management expects insurance to cover a substantial portion of it.
  • External: Continued hostilities and uncertain transit through the Strait of Hormuz keep Middle East supply below pre-conflict levels.
  • External: Russian nitrogen production remains at risk from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
  • External: Higher European gas prices and low storage may further pressure marginal European nitrogen production.
  • Regulatory: Chinese export volumes depend on government policy, domestic pricing and fall restocking; export quotas and price floors have been revised.
  • Financial: Higher shipping costs from the Middle East are expected to persist over the longer term.

Earlier plans management reported on

  • On track: Management describes the Yazoo City carbon capture and sequestration project as proceeding as scheduled, with start-up expected in 2028.
  • Met: Management presents the Blue Point One FID as reached, with JERA and Mitsui awarded a Japanese government contract for difference. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.