CF Industries vs FMC
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put CF Industries and FMC side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- CF Industries is the larger business, with $7.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $3.5B for FMC, about 2.0 times as much.
- CF Industries grew revenue faster (19.3%, against −18.3%).
- CF Industries kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (32.5% operating margin, against −47.0%).
- CF Industries turned more of its sales into free cash flow (25.4% FCF margin, against −3.0%).
- CF Industries earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (20.6%, against −19.6%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
CF Industries
CF
10/10
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
FMC
FMC
0/10
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CF FY25 | FMC FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $18.6B | $578M |
| Revenue | $7.1B | $3.5B |
| Free cash flow | $1.8B | −$103M |
| Net income | $1.5B | −$2.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 19.3% | −18.3% |
| 5-year growth | 11.4% | −5.7% |
| Share count change | −10.2% | −0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 38.5% | 37.0% |
| Operating margin | 32.5% | −47.0% |
| Net margin | 20.5% | −64.6% |
| FCF margin | 25.4% | −3.0% |
| Return on capital | 20.6% | −19.6% |
| Return on equity | 29.6% | −68.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.2B | $3.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.4x | — |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.7B | $291M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 9.0x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 2 |
Ten years
Revenue
FY16
CF $3.7B
FMC $2.5B
FY17
CF $4.1B
FMC $2.9B
FY18
CF $4.4B
FMC $4.7B
FY19
CF $4.6B
FMC $4.6B
FY20
CF $4.1B
FMC $4.6B
FY21
CF $6.5B
FMC $5.0B
FY22
CF $11.2B
FMC $5.8B
FY23
CF $6.6B
FMC $4.5B
FY24
CF $5.9B
FMC $4.2B
FY25
CF $7.1B
FMC $3.5B
CF
FMC
Operating margin
FY16
CF 3.7%
FMC 10.5%
FY17
CF 5.7%
FMC 5.5%
FY18
CF 17.3%
FMC 15.7%
FY19
CF 21.9%
FMC 17.8%
FY20
CF 15.1%
FMC 19.3%
FY21
CF 26.5%
FMC 20.5%
FY22
CF 48.3%
FMC 19.7%
FY23
CF 33.6%
FMC 12.4%
FY24
CF 29.4%
FMC 11.9%
FY25
CF 32.5%
FMC −47.0%
CF
FMC
Free cash flow
FY16
CF −$1.6B
FMC $278M
FY17
CF $1.2B
FMC $194M
FY18
CF $1.1B
FMC $280M
FY19
CF $1.1B
FMC $462M
FY20
CF $922M
FMC $670M
FY21
CF $2.4B
FMC $799M
FY22
CF $3.4B
FMC $518M
FY23
CF $2.3B
FMC −$434M
FY24
CF $1.8B
FMC $669M
FY25
CF $1.8B
FMC −$103M
CF
FMC
Return on capital
FY16
CF 1.1%
FMC 4.9%
FY17
CF 1.7%
FMC 1.7%
FY18
CF 5.9%
FMC 11.5%
FY19
CF 8.8%
FMC 12.0%
FY20
CF 6.4%
FMC 12.5%
FY21
CF 16.9%
FMC 16.0%
FY22
CF 51.0%
FMC 16.4%
FY23
CF 20.5%
FMC 7.8%
FY24
CF 16.0%
FMC 6.5%
FY25
CF 20.6%
FMC −19.6%
CF
FMC
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.