FMC Slumps After Cutting Guidance on LatAm Headwinds

FMC Corp (FMC:US) shares lost 13.2% on Monday after the chemical manufacturing company lowered its earnings guidance for the third quarter.

The company now expects adjusted EPS to be $0.44, down from the previous range of $0.90 to $1.32, and weaker than the analyst consensus of $1.02. Revenue is seen at $982 million, a meaningful decrease from the earlier projection of $1.19 billion to $1.27 billion, and the consensus of $1.2 billion. 

"During the third quarter we observed continued channel destocking in all regions; however, the magnitude of the destocking in Brazil was much greater than we had anticipated," said Mark Douglas, FMC president and chief executive officer. 

"While application of products by growers remains stable, significant global destocking impacts are expected to persist into next year and we have adjusted our full year outlook accordingly.”

The revised third-quarter outlook is also shaped by drought conditions in Argentina.

Looking at the yearly forecast, FMC Corp now foresees revenue for the year in the range of $4.48 billion to $4.72 billion, a downward revision from the previous range of $5.20 billion to $5.40 billion, and the consensus of $5.22 billion.

Congressman Ro Khanna has been trading FMC shares in recent years. Most recently, he reported the sale of some FMC shares conducted in early September.