CF Industries (CF) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript

Motley Fool Transcribing, The Motley Fool

Thu, May 7, 2026 astatine 12:16 PM CDT 28 min read

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DATE

Thursday, May 7, 2026 astatine 11 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President and Chief Executive Officer — Christopher D. Bohn

• Senior Vice President, Sales, Procurement & Distribution — Bert A. Frost

• Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — Richard Hoker

• Vice President, Investor Relations — Martin A. Jarosick

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Full Conference Call Transcript

Christopher D. Bohn: Thanks, Martin. Good morning, everyone. Yesterday afternoon, we posted results for 2026 successful which we generated adjusted EBITDA of $983 million. These results bespeak a continued absorption connected safety, operational excellence, and disciplined execution by our team. Starting with safety, our trailing twelve-month recordable incidental complaint astatine the extremity of the 4th was 0.16 incidents per 200,000 hours worked. This is simply a nonstop effect of however our squad lives our “Do It Right” civilization each day. Operationally, we had different beardown quarter, moving disposable ammonia capableness astatine astir 100%, and our commercial, logistics, and organisation teams ensured we met customers’ requirements starring into the North American outpouring exertion season.

Our show successful the 4th besides reflected the choky planetary nitrogen supply-demand equilibrium that carried into 2026. Late successful the quarter, the struggle with Iran severely tightened the planetary nitrogen market, a dynamic we expect to proceed for immoderate time. Lost accumulation cannot beryllium recovered. Damaged nitrogen and upstream feedstock capableness indispensable beryllium restored, and planetary commercialized flows volition necessitate clip to recalibrate. In addition, the Russia-Ukraine warfare continues to disrupt nitrogen accumulation astatine Russian facilities. From a macro perspective, we judge caller geopolitical disruptions are driving a cardinal displacement successful our planetary industry’s risk-return framework. First quartile producers person historically been defined by debased earthy state costs alone.

Recent proviso disruptions from the Middle East and Russia amusement that low-cost feedstock is nary longer enough. As a result, we spot a wide disagreement wrong the archetypal quartile. North America, wherever we person intentionally invested billions of dollars implicit decades to physique the starring nitrogen manufacturing and organisation network, is debased outgo and debased risk, representing premium-grade assets. This is successful stark opposition to astir 50% of archetypal quartile capableness that is fragile and exposed, with debased earthy state costs that are offset by utmost geopolitical exposure.

We judge the geopolitical hazard premium that fragile and exposed producers look volition beryllium an enduring structural headwind, expanding the outgo of superior and adding costs and uncertainties for moving merchandise to customers. In our view, this has strengthened mid-cycle economics crossed the nitrogen industry, with a higher urea terms present required to incentivize concern successful caller capableness successful the Middle East to offset geopolitical hazard oregon to physique successful higher-capital-cost, low-risk regions. With that, I volition crook it implicit to Bert to sermon the planetary nitrogen marketplace environment. Bert?