FMC cuts third-quarter revenue forecast to as little as $65 million as it marks down crop chemicals stuck with distributors

FMC Corp. said Thursday it now expects third-quarter revenue of $65 million to $125 million, down from the $840 million to $900 million it forecast in July, as the crop-chemical maker cuts prices on products that distributors have struggled to sell on to farmers.

A forecast that fell by almost 90%

The crop-protection company now expects adjusted EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization that excludes some items, to be a loss of $510 million to $565 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. In July it forecast a profit of $120 million to $140 million on the same measure. The $95 million midpoint of the new revenue range is about 89% below the $870 million midpoint of the old one, by TickerGrove's calculation. Analysts had expected revenue of about $867 million, according to a consensus figure cited by The Fly.

FMC said the new revenue range applies both to reported revenue and to revenue excluding its India business, which it is selling; the July forecast was given excluding India.

Most of the swing comes from what the company calls commercial actions, which it estimates will cost $625 million to $675 million in revenue and adjusted EBITDA. FMC is lowering the price of select products already held by channel customers, such as distributors, in Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Canada, and it is changing how it sells and prices products in the U.S. The figures are preliminary. FMC said it has not finalized the quarter and cannot yet issue or reasonably estimate complete results under generally accepted accounting principles.

Why products are stuck in the channel

"Third-quarter demand was weaker than we expected, driven by challenging market conditions and elevated levels of higher-priced FMC products held in inventory by certain channel customers, which are limiting product movement and replenishment demand," Chairman and Chief Executive Pierre Brondeau said in the release.

FMC said distributors are seeking to operate with the lowest inventory levels it has experienced. The company made meaningful progress reducing channel inventory volumes in 2025, but certain higher-priced FMC products are increasing the overall value of the FMC inventory some customers hold. Those products entered the channel under different cost structures, intellectual property positions and competitive conditions, and rapid market price declines, driven in part by increased generic competition, have widened the gap between the value of that inventory and current market prices. That has limited how much of those products moves on to growers, which in turn holds back replenishment orders.

The U.S. change goes to how FMC has priced for years. It has sold products at a high gross price paired with large rebates, and it now intends to "significantly reduce the gap between gross and net pricing," which it said would simplify customer economics and better align prices with the market. FMC said it views its current pricing as competitive. Brondeau said the company had addressed the issue "incrementally over several quarters" but that "under current market conditions, we determined that more comprehensive actions are necessary."

Banks, a possible write-down and a debt plan

FMC said it expects to be in compliance with its loan covenants at Sept. 30, but it intends to talk with its bank group about potential further modifications to those covenants over the next year to give it more flexibility while the pricing changes take hold.

FMC said the lower revenue and revised forecasts are a triggering event for evaluating its intangible assets for impairment as of Sept. 30. The company said it may have to record a material non-cash impairment charge for the quarter but has not finished the assessment and cannot yet say whether one exists or how large it would be.

In its July 29 results, FMC outlined the main pieces of a targeted $1 billion in proceeds to be used for debt reduction: an agreement to sell its India commercial business for $252 million, a licensing deal for the rimisoxafen active ingredient with Corteva that brought a $200 million upfront payment, a $114 million sale-leaseback of its Newark, Delaware, property and a $400 million equity investment from Belgium's Tessenderlo Group. Tessenderlo completed that purchase on Sept. 23, buying 30,319,166 FMC shares at $13.30 each for $403.2 million.

How the stock is trading

FMC shares were at $5.41 at 10:32 a.m. ET, down about 33% from Wednesday's close of $8.09, after trading as low as $4.85, according to CNBC market data. That gave the company a market value of about $841 million, by CNBC's count. Bloomberg News reported that the shares fell to their lowest level in more than two decades. At Thursday's price, the shares Tessenderlo bought last month are worth about $164 million, roughly 59% less than it paid, by TickerGrove's calculation.

What comes next

FMC will report full third-quarter results and update its 2026 financial outlook on Oct. 29, and it plans to give preliminary expectations for 2027 and 2028 on its earnings call on Oct. 30. Brondeau said the pricing actions, combined with the company's 2026 operational priorities, are expected to "significantly improve the company's overall competitiveness" and position FMC "to operate at its full potential in 2027, 2028 and the long term."