A day after The Mosaic Company reported its second quarter (Q2) 2026 earnings, Nutrien reported its results, including lower nitrogen sales volumes and slightly lower potash sales volumes year-over-year, while phosphate sales volumes increased despite elevated sulfur costs.
“Following a strong start to the application season in the first quarter, North American retail crop nutrient volumes declined in the second quarter, in particular for phosphate and nitrogen. The reduction in commodity fertilizer volumes was offset by strong proprietary product performance. We maintained our full-year retail-adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1.75 to 1.95 billion,” said Mark Thompson, executive VP and CFO at Nutrien in an earnings call.
Unpacking Nutrien’s Q2 2026 fertilizer volumes
After the closing bell on Aug. 5, Nutrien reported its Q2 2026 results, ending June 30, with $10.812 billion in sales, compared to $10.438 billion during the same period last year. The company’s expenses rose from $1.393 billion in Q2 2025 to $1.474 billion in Q2 2026, driven in part by higher fuel costs for its fleet and retail operations.
Nutrien experienced declines in nitrogen and potash sales volumes year-over-year, while phosphate sales volumes increased despite supply chain volatility. In the Q2 2026 results, Nutrien reported …
- Total nitrogen sales volumes dropped from 3.017 million tonnes in Q2 2025 to 2.253 million tonnes in Q2 2026. Gross margin for the nitrogen segment improved from $513 million in Q2 2025 to $543 million in Q2 2026.
- Potash sales volumes edged down slightly from 3.989 million tonnes in Q2 2025 to 3.943 million tonnes but generated $607 million in gross margin.
- Phosphate bucked the downward sales volume trends, increasing from 543,000 tonnes in Q2 2025 to 590,000 tonnes in Q2 2026, and a manufactured product gross margin of negative $31 per tonne.
Nitrogen volumes were down due to corn acres declines, a large 2025 fall application, and delays in Western Canadian planting, idling at several facilities, and delayed purchases due to market volatility, executives shared on the earnings call.
Additionally, potash performed “pretty much as expected,” given that the crop nutrient is one of the most affordable crop nutrients, said Ken Seitz, president and CEO of Nutrien, on the earnings call.
Nutrien largely kept its guidance on yearly fertilizer sales volumes, estimating 9.2-9.7 million tonnes of nitrogen and 2.4-2.6 million tonnes of phosphate. However, the crop nutrient company boosted its potash forecast to 14.2-14.8 million tonnes, compared to the previous guidance of 14.1-14.8 million tonnes.
Looking ahead, Nutrien is “expecting good applications of N and K in the fall,” which should boost volumes in the second half of the year, Seitz noted.
“We continue to expect good volumes this fall on the year. Could we be down a little bit on volumes? Yes, but we expect a higher gross margin per ton on crop nutrients again in the second half. That will offset those lower volumes,” he added.
Nutrien reviews phosphate options
Nutrien is continuing to review strategic options for its Trinidad nitrogen operations, Brazilian retail operations, and phosphate business. The company has “received numerous non-binding bids” for the phosphate business, but acquirers are acutely aware of the current operating environment, Seitz noted.
“We assumed that any prospective strategic buyer would look through the current volatility, knowing that the phosphate market today is completely unsustainable. Something has to change and will change. And again, that any strategic buyer would look through the current market and understand the quality asset that Aurora is,” he elaborated.
