CF Industries misses third-quarter earnings forecast as Yazoo City outage keeps ammonia output capped

Revenue of $1.86B beat the $1.84B expected, but the company still sees about 9.5 million tons of gross ammonia output in 2026, the same as its earlier guidance.

CF Industries reported third-quarter earnings of $2.87 a share on a GAAP basis, $0.15 worse than expected. Revenue of $1.86B was ahead of the $1.84B forecast.

The outlook is where the outage shows. Management still projects about 9.5 million tons of gross ammonia production for 2026, matching earlier guidance. The Yazoo City, Mississippi complex remains shut, so it still limits what the company can produce this year. Its restart is expected in the first half of 2027.

Chief executive Chris Bohn said the company ran the rest of its network at high rates to meet substantial deferred customer demand, and that safety performance was strong.

The company is funding both investment and shareholder returns while the Mississippi complex is down. It expects capital spending of about $1.3bn for the year. That figure includes spending on the Blue Point One joint venture that its partners fund, and CF Industries' own share is about $950m. In the quarter it bought back 3.0 million shares for $367m, leaving about $1.11bn under its $2bn repurchase programme.

The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 a share, payable on November 30 to holders of record on November 16.