Nutrien's Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates in Q3, Up Y/Y

Nutrien Ltd. NTR recorded profits of $496 million or 96 cents per share for the third quarter of 2025, surging from $25 million or 4 cents in the year-ago quarter. 

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 97 cents per share. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 93 cents. 

Sales rose around 12% year over year to $6,007 million in the quarter. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,827 million. 

Nutrien Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Nutrien Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nutrien Ltd. Quote

NTR’s Segment Highlights

Sales in the Nutrien Ag Solutions (Retail) segment rose 5% year over year to $3,427 million in the quarter. In the third quarter, crop nutrients sales and gross margin rose, driven by higher sales volumes and selling prices on a strong application season in North America. The figure missed our estimate of $4,338 million. 

The Potash division reported a 27% year-over-year sales rise, totaling $1,122 million. The metric beat our estimate of $456 million. Third-quarter sales rose due to strong demand in North America and offshore. 

The Nitrogen segment posted sales of $1,063 million, up approximately 34% year over year. The figure beat our estimate of $809 million. In the third quarter of 2025, sales volumes rose, supported by strong demand and higher production of ammonia and upgraded nitrogen products. 

The Phosphate segment generated sales of $495 million, up around 20% year over year. This figure exceeded our estimate of $255 million. 

NTR’s Financials

At the end of the quarter, NTR had cash and cash equivalents of $624 million, up around 20% year over year. Long-term debt was $10,390 million, flat year over year. 

Cash used in operating activities was $426 million in the reported quarter. 

NTR’s Outlook

The company projects retail adjusted EBITDA of $1.68 to $1.82 billion for 2025, reflecting expectations for stronger crop nutrient and crop protection sales in the second half compared to 2024.

Potash sales volume guidance has been raised to 14–14.5 million tons, in line with historical market share, driven by anticipated higher global demand. Nitrogen sales volumes are forecast at 10.7–11 million tons, factoring in no additional sales volumes from Trinidad operations for the balance of 2025.

Phosphate sales volumes are expected to be 2.35–2.55 million tons, supported by improved operating rates and sales volumes in the fourth quarter.

Capital expenditures are projected at $2–$2.1 billion, below last year’s level, including $400–$500 million in growth investments targeting proprietary products, network optimization, digital capabilities, nitrogen brownfield expansions and potash mine automation. The effective tax rate on adjusted net earnings has been revised to 24.5–25.5%. 

NTR’s Price Performance

Nutrien’s shares have gained 16.5% in the past year compared with a 6.9% rise of the industry.

NTR’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are AngloGold Ashanti Plc. AU, U.S. Gold Corp. USAU and Integra Resources Corp. ITRG. 

AngloGold is slated to report third-quarter results on Nov. 11. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.34 per share. Gold Fields currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

U.S. Gold is expected to report fiscal second-quarter results on Dec. 15. USAU carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAU’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 13 cents, indicating a 35% year-over-year growth. 

Integra Resources is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 12. ITRG’s earnings estimate for the third quarter is pegged at 13 cents per share. Integra Resources carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research