Key Takeaways
- FMC Corp. shares lost a third of their value on Wednesday after the release of the company’s fourth-quarter results late the day before.
- The company reported revenue that came in below analysts’ estimates and issued sluggish guidance for 2025.
- The agricultural sciences company said growth in the fourth quarter was “below our expectations,” noting that customers are holding less inventory than usual.
Shares of FMC Corp. (FMC) plunged to their lowest level in nearly nine years Wednesday after the agricultural sciences company released disappointing fourth-quarter results and a lackluster outlook.
The company late Tuesday reported $1.22 billion in revenue for the quarter, up from $1.15 billion a year earlier but below the $1.31 billion that analysts had expected, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha. The maker of pest control and herbicide products said that adjusted profit came in at $224.6 million, or $1.79 a share, better than the $200.49 million and $1.60 per share that analysts had projected.
For 2025, FMC projects revenue of between $4.15 billion and $4.35 billion and adjusted EPS of between $3.26 and $3.70, which in both cases implies little improvement from last year. The forecasts were also lighter than analysts had expected.
CEO Says Q4 Growth ‘Below Our Expectations’
“While we saw a good increase in volume, the growth was below our expectations as we learned during the quarter that customers in many countries sought to hold significantly less inventory than they have historically,” Chief Executive Officer Pierre Brondeau said in a Tuesday statement.
FMC shares fell 34% on Wednesday, hitting their lowest level since April 2016. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500.
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UPDATE: This article has been updated with closing share price information and additional context.
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