Corteva Stock's Wild Ride Continues. This Time, Blame Brazil. -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Corteva's wild ride continued early Thursday after the company's disappointing guidance.

Wednesday evening, the crop protection chemical company announced third-quarter earnings per share of 6 cents and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) of $220 million from sales of $1.6 billion.

Wall Street was looking for a 2-cent profit, an Ebitda loss of $18 million, and sales of $1.8 million.

Shares were down almost 10% in premarket trading at $10.95, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%.

Earnings beat expectations, so what gives?

For starters, there were a lot of adjustments -- naturally. Corteva recently spun off its seed business, Vylor.

Sales were also a problem, dropping 9% year over year. Volumes dropped 2%. Pricing dropped 7%. Brazilian farmers continue to struggle with relatively high input costs and relatively low crop prices, leaving them less money to spend on inputs. (Brazil is a key growing region for the world, rivaling the U.S.)

Guidance was an issue, too. For 2026, Corteva expects Ebitda of about $1.1. billion, which implies fourth-quarter Ebitda of less than $200 million. Wall Street was looking for $400 million.

Citi analyst Patrick Cunningham called the guidance "sharply lower" in a Wednesday report, blaming weather and high interest rates. Brazil was the big problem, he noted.

Early trading continues recent stock volatility for the company. The Vylor spin created some confusion, with Corteva stock looking as if it was down 80% on Oct. 1. It wasn't. It took some time for stock charts to adjust for the spin.

After the spin, shares picked up a couple of new Buy ratings, and shares traded above $14. Then, weak earnings from peer FMC sent that stock from more than $8 a share to $5.65 entering Thursday trading.

FMC results weighed on Corteva stock, too. Entering Thursday trading, Corteva shares were down 9% over the past month. Now its earnings report has shares down again.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com.

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November 12, 2026 08:07 ET (13:07 GMT)