Crop inputs: potash, nitrogen, phosphate and ag retail / Operating producer and retailer / Agriculture & Food
Nutrien
TSXNTRNYSENTR
Nutrien describes itself as a provider of crop inputs and services that spans fertilizer production, distribution and farm retail, with its upstream assets mostly in North America and retail operations in North America, Australia and South America; it says it supplied 27.5 million tonnes of fertilizer products to customers in more than 50 countries in 2025 and sells about 1,700 proprietary crop nutrient, crop protection and seed products through its stores [7]. The head office is in Saskatoon, and the shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the same symbol, NTR, so a U.S. investor can buy the NYSE line in U.S. dollars without an over-the-counter quote [1][6]. The company reports in U.S. dollars, which removes the currency step that most Canadian issuers impose on an American reader.
The potash segment is the reason the company matters to a U.S. farm. Nutrien lists six potash operations, all in Saskatchewan: Allan, Cory, Lanigan, Patience Lake, Rocanville and Vanscoy [5]. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that net imports supplied 92% of U.S. apparent potash consumption in 2025, that Canada supplied 79% of those imports over 2021–24, and that Canada mined about 15.0 million tonnes of potash (K2O equivalent) in 2025 against 10.0 million in Russia, 6.3 million in China and 6.0 million in Belarus [8]. Sales to customers outside Canada and the United States go through Canpotex, the export marketing company Nutrien owns in equal shares with Mosaic [9]; in the first half of 2026 Latin America took 44% of Canpotex's sales, other Asian markets 26%, China 14% and India 3% [2].
The second quarter of 2026 shows the shape of the earnings. Sales were US$10,812 million against US$10,438 million a year earlier, net earnings US$1,222 million (US$2.53 per diluted share) against US$1,229 million, and adjusted EBITDA, management's non-IFRS measure, US$2,430 million against US$2,486 million [1]. Retail contributed US$1,131 million of that adjusted EBITDA, potash US$658 million, nitrogen US$263 million and phosphate US$123 million; the nitrogen figure was US$566 million a year earlier, and the company attributes the fall to lower sales volumes after the controlled shutdown of its Trinidad plant and the absence of equity earnings from Profertil, the Argentine joint venture it sold in December 2025 [1][3]. Potash sold 3,943 thousand tonnes in the quarter at an average net selling price of US$267 a tonne (US$295 in North America, US$259 offshore), with cost of goods sold of US$113 a tonne and a controllable cash cost of product manufactured of US$55 a tonne [1][2]. Management calls the first-half potash volumes a record and raised the bottom of its 2026 potash sales guidance to 14.2–14.8 million tonnes from 14.1–14.8 million [1][3].
For 2025 as a whole the company reported sales of US$26,885 million, net earnings of US$2,297 million, adjusted EBITDA of US$6,046 million and free cash flow (its own measure) of US$2,002 million, and it paid US$1,061 million in dividends and bought back US$551 million of stock [3]. The balance sheet at June 30, 2026 carried US$921 million of cash and US$11,388 million of total debt, including US$1,434 million of long-term debt due within a year [2]. There were 477,210,074 common shares outstanding at August 4, 2026, and the quarterly dividend is US$0.55 a share [2][4]. The company says it has divested about US$1 billion of non-core assets since the fourth quarter of 2024 and intends to settle the future of its phosphate business, the Trinidad nitrogen plant and its Brazilian retail arm during 2026 [1].
Trade policy is the variable an American holder cannot read in the filings. Potash was added to the U.S. Geological Survey's list of critical minerals in November 2025 [12], and Blakes, a Canadian law firm, reads the July 2026 Section 338 proclamations as excluding potash, energy, fish and critical minerals from the new 50% tariffs on Canadian goods [11]. That exemption protects the North American potash price Nutrien reports, but it is an administrative fact with a date rather than a treaty right.
Primary assets & business
- Potash: six Saskatchewan operations at Allan, Cory, Lanigan, Patience Lake, Rocanville and Vanscoy; 49% of potash ore tonnes mined with automation in 2025 [5][7]
- Potash sales: 14,253 thousand tonnes in 2025; 3,943 thousand tonnes in Q2 2026, of which 922 thousand to North America and 3,021 thousand offshore through Canpotex [3][1]
- Canpotex: export marketing company owned equally with Mosaic; H1 2026 sales by market Latin America 44%, other Asia 26%, China 14%, India 3%, other 13% [9][2]
- Nitrogen: North American plants including Carseland, Alberta (largest turnaround in the facility's history completed in Q2 2026); Trinidad plant in controlled shutdown since October 23, 2025; New Madrid upgrade ceased production at the end of 2025; 50% of Profertil (Argentina) sold December 10, 2025 for gross proceeds of about US$595 million [1][3]
- Phosphate: strategic review of alternatives under way, to be settled in 2026 [1][3]
- Retail (Nutrien Ag Solutions): stores in North America, Australia and South America selling crop nutrients, crop protection, seed and about 1,700 proprietary products; Nutrien Financial revenue of US$145 million in Q2 2026 [7][1]
Financial position
| Sales (latest quarter) | US$10,812MQ2 2025: US$10,438M. First half 2026: US$16,858M. | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 [1] |
|---|---|---|
| Net earnings (latest quarter) | US$1,222MUS$2.53 per diluted share. Q2 2025: US$1,229M (US$2.50). | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 [1] |
| Adjusted EBITDA (latest quarter) | US$2,430MManagement's non-IFRS measure. Q2 2025: US$2,486M. Segments: Retail US$1,131M, Potash US$658M, Nitrogen US$263M, Phosphate US$123M. | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 [1] |
| Cash from operating activities (latest quarter) | US$2,484MQ2 2025: US$2,538M. Capital expenditures US$491M (US$424M). First half 2026: US$1,633M, up 12%. | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 [1] |
| Potash net selling price | US$267/tonneNorth America US$295; offshore US$259. Q2 2025 average US$248. Cost of goods sold US$113/tonne; controllable cash cost of product manufactured US$55/tonne [2]. | Quarter ended Jun 30, 2026 [1] |
| Potash sales volumes (2026 guidance) | 14.2–14.8M tonnesRaised from 14.1–14.8M tonnes in February 2026 [3]. 2025 actual: 14,253 thousand tonnes. | Aug 5, 2026 [1] |
| Sales (fiscal 2025) | US$26,885M2024: US$25,972M. Net earnings US$2,297M; adjusted EBITDA US$6,046M; free cash flow US$2,002M (company measure). | Year ended Dec 31, 2025 [3] |
| Cash | US$921MCash and cash equivalents. | Jun 30, 2026 [2] |
| Total debt | US$11,388MShort-term debt US$527M; current portion of long-term debt US$1,434M; long-term debt US$9,427M. Dec 31, 2025 total debt: US$9,863M [3]. | Jun 30, 2026 [2] |
| Capital expenditures (2026 guidance) | US$1.95–2.05BReduced from US$2.0–2.1B in February 2026 [3]. | Aug 5, 2026 [2] |
| Market capitalization | Not yet verifiedNot verified against a dated close. |
All figures are in U.S. dollars, Nutrien's reporting currency. Quarterly figures are for the three months ended June 30, 2026 from the August 5, 2026 news release and the accompanying MD&A filed on EDGAR; annual figures are from the February 18, 2026 full-year release. Adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and controllable cash cost of product manufactured are management's non-IFRS measures as the company defines them. Blank means not yet verified, never zero.
Ownership & capital structure
| Common shares outstanding | 477,210,074Share repurchases of US$320M in the first half of 2026, up 26% from a year earlier [1]. | Aug 4, 2026 [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly dividend | US$0.55 per shareRecord date September 29, 2026; payable October 16, 2026. Designated an eligible dividend under the Income Tax Act (Canada); Canadian withholding tax applies to U.S. holders outside qualified retirement accounts. Dividends paid in 2025: US$1,061M [3]. | Declared Aug 5, 2026 [4] |
| Canpotex interest | Equal ownership with MosaicEqual board representation; Canpotex markets Saskatchewan potash to customers outside Canada and the United States. | Jan 2, 2018 [9] |
| Significant shareholders | Not yet verifiedNot verified; see the management proxy circular on SEDAR+. |
What has to happen next
- Third-quarter 2026 results and whether the fall application season starts early, as the Market Outlook of August 5 suggested it might [1].
- Investor Day on November 30, 2026, announced September 23 [6].
- Decisions on the phosphate business, the Trinidad nitrogen plant and the Brazilian retail business, which management says will be settled in 2026 [1].
- Delivery against 2026 potash sales guidance of 14.2–14.8 million tonnes and the shape of the global shipment forecast of 74–77 million tonnes [1].
- Completion of the Neptune Bulk Terminals modernization that Canpotex announced on September 25, 2026, expected in 2028 [10].
- Any change to the Section 338 exclusions for potash and critical minerals, which Blakes reads as outside the 50% tariff that took effect in August 2026 [11].
Research checkpoints, not a dated event calendar or a promise of outcomes.
Valuation context
No valuation conclusion is published here. Nutrien reports in U.S. dollars and trades on the NYSE, so the usual Canadian-discount arithmetic needs no currency conversion; the comparison that matters is against Mosaic, its Canpotex partner, and the large U.S. nitrogen producers, on the same date and using the same definition of adjusted EBITDA. A dated comparison would need the 477,210,074 shares outstanding at August 4, 2026, total debt of US$11,388 million and cash of US$921 million at June 30, 2026, and a stated assumption for the North American and offshore potash prices, which were US$295 and US$259 a tonne in the second quarter [2][1]. Retail earnings deserve a separate multiple from fertilizer earnings, since they move with farm spending rather than the potash benchmark.
Mandatory reading
Key risks
- Potash is priced off contracts Canpotex and its competitors sign with India and China and off spot markets in Brazil and Southeast Asia; Nutrien's offshore price was US$259 a tonne in the second quarter against US$295 in North America, and the spread can close in either direction [1].
- Nitrogen adjusted EBITDA more than halved year over year in the second quarter after the Trinidad shutdown and the Profertil sale; the segment is now more dependent on North American natural gas prices and plant reliability [1][3].
- Potash and critical minerals are excluded from the July 2026 Section 338 tariffs by the reading of trade counsel, not by treaty; a change to the annexes would hit the North American price line first [11][12].
- The phosphate review, the Trinidad decision and the Brazilian retail decision are all open; a sale at a loss or a write-down would land in reported, if not adjusted, earnings [1].
- Retail depends on grower credit and crop prices; the August 2026 USDA report put the 2026 U.S. corn crop 5.9% below 2025, and lower farm income tends to defer fertilizer purchases [13].
- Total debt rose to US$11,388 million at June 30, 2026 from US$9,863 million at year end, with US$1,434 million of long-term debt due within a year [2][3].
Source documents
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1
Nutrien Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
Q2 2026: sales US$10,812M (US$10,438M); net earnings US$1,222M, US$2.53/diluted share (US$1,229M, US$2.50); adjusted EBITDA US$2,430M (US$2,486M); adjusted net EPS US$2.61 (US$2.65); cash from operations US$2,484M (US$2,538M); segment adjusted EBITDA Retail US$1,131M, Potash US$658M, Nitrogen US$263M (US$566M), Phosphate US$123M; potash volumes 3,943 kt (NA 922, offshore 3,021); potash price US$267/t (NA US$295, offshore US$259); COGS US$113/t; nitrogen volumes 2,253 kt, US$452/t; H1 figures; guidance potash 14.2–14.8 Mt; Retail adjusted EBITDA US$1.75–1.95B; capex US$1.95–2.05B; Market Outlook; non-core asset sales; Carseland turnaround; Trinidad and Profertil explanation; Nutrien Financial US$145M; TSX/NYSE: NTR; Saskatoon.
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2
News Release and MD&A, second quarter 2026 (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1)
Cash US$921M; short-term debt US$527M; current long-term debt US$1,434M; long-term debt US$9,427M; total debt US$11,388M at June 30, 2026; 477,210,074 shares at August 4, 2026; capex H1 US$816M (US$724M); 2026 guidance table; controllable cash cost US$55/t in Q2, US$57/t in H1; Canpotex H1 2026 sales by market.
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3
Nutrien Reports Full-Year 2025 Results and Provides 2026 Guidance
FY2025: sales US$26,885M (US$25,972M); net earnings US$2,297M, US$4.66/share; adjusted EBITDA US$6,046M (US$5,355M); adjusted EPS US$4.56; cash from operations US$4,007M; free cash flow US$2,002M; segments Retail US$1,736M, Potash US$2,254M, Nitrogen US$2,147M, Phosphate US$382M; potash volumes 14,253 kt, NA US$305/t, offshore US$247/t, average US$262/t; nitrogen 10,888 kt, US$373/t; original 2026 guidance potash 14.1–14.8 Mt, capex US$2.0–2.1B; dividends US$1,061M; buybacks US$551M; total debt US$9,863M; Profertil sale Dec 10, 2025 (~US$595M gross, US$301M gain); Sinofert exit US$193M; Trinidad shutdown Oct 23, 2025; New Madrid; global shipments 74.5 Mt in 2025, 74–77 Mt forecast for 2026.
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4
Nutrien Declares Quarterly Dividend of US$0.55 per Share
US$0.55 per share; record September 29, 2026; payable October 16, 2026; eligible dividend designation.
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5
Locations — Potash
Allan, Cory, Lanigan, Patience Lake, Rocanville and Vanscoy, all in Saskatchewan. No per-mine capacity stated.
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6
Investors
TSX: NTR; NYSE: NTR; dividend declared August 5, 2026; Investor Day on November 30, 2026 announced September 23, 2026.
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7
About Nutrien
27.5 million tonnes of fertilizer products supplied in 2025; customers in more than 50 countries; about 1,700 proprietary products; 49% of potash ore tonnes mined with automation in 2025; retail in North America, Australia and South America.
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8
Potash — Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026
U.S. 2025 estimates: production 500 kt K2O; apparent consumption 5,900 kt; imports 5,600 kt; net import reliance 92%; import sources 2021–24 Canada 79%, Russia 12%, Israel 3%, other 6%; world mine production 2025 Canada 15,000 kt, Russia 10,000 kt, China 6,300 kt, Belarus 6,000 kt; Canada reserves 1,100,000 kt K2O.
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9
Canpotex Shareholder Update
Following the Agrium–PotashCorp merger, Mosaic and Nutrien each hold equal ownership of Canpotex with equal board representation; Canpotex sells and delivers Saskatchewan potash to overseas customers.
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10
Canpotex announces $500 million investment in Neptune Bulk Terminals
C$500 million modernization of shiploaders, conveyors and the dumper pit at Neptune Bulk Terminals, Port of Vancouver; completion expected 2028; 15 million tonnes a year move through the Canpotex supply chain to customers in more than 40 countries; 8,500 railcars; nearly C$1.5 billion invested at Neptune over 20 years.
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11
U.S. Imposes 50% Tariffs on Canadian Products, Effective August 22, 2026
Exclusions for energy, potash, fish, critical minerals and goods already under Section 232; tariffs apply even to CUSMA-qualifying goods.
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12
Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
60 minerals, including potash and phosphate.
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13
Crop Production (August 2026)
Corn forecast 16.0 billion bushels, down 5.9% from 2025, yield 180.7 bu/acre (down 5.8); soybeans 4.52 billion bushels, up 6.0%, yield 52.7; all wheat 1.53 billion bushels, down 23% from 2025.
