Phosphate Earnings Fall 93% to $8 Million as Nutrien to Close White Springs in 2027
Key Facts
Nutrien will shut operations at its White Springs facility in Florida in the second quarter of 2027 following a strategic review of its phosphate business, while retaining and improving its Aurora facilities and integrated upgrading operations, the company said in its third-quarter results statement. White Springs is nearing the end of its economically recoverable reserves, which has driven up operating costs and capital requirements, Nutrien said. The decision comes as adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the phosphate segment fell 93% in the third quarter to $8 million, compared with $122 million in the same period of 2025. For the quarter ended September 30, Nutrien reported adjusted earnings of $0.61 per share, below analysts’ average forecast of $0.80, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The closure aims to reduce the burden of an underperforming facility while retaining production the company sees as better aligned with its strategy.
Nutrien expects the closure of White Springs to reduce annual sustaining capital expenditures and lease payments by about $50 million, and to support improved adjusted earnings and free cash flow. The company’s 2026 estimates show the facility’s scale in the segment before the closure: it is expected to account for about 20% of phosphate sales and 28% of the segment’s cost of goods sold. But the cost of goods sold per ton of phosphate products rose to $939 in the third quarter, from $643 a year earlier, with Nutrien attributing the increase mainly to higher sulfur costs. The company said sulfur input prices rose partly following an increase in global benchmarks, while adjusted segment earnings fell to $8 million. Against this backdrop, closure-related cost reductions are an effort to improve the economics of phosphate operations after cost pressures squeezed margins.
Weakness extended beyond phosphate: Nutrien’s net earnings fell 39% to $288 million in the third quarter, despite a 1% increase in total sales to $6.06 billion. Sales totaled $6.064 billion in the official results, compared with $6.007 billion in the third quarter of 2025, as higher nutrient prices partly offset the effect of lower shipment volumes. Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said the results reflected weak fertilizer demand in North America alongside higher prices and nitrogen and phosphate production costs. On the earnings call, Nutrien said farmers, particularly in Brazil, were delaying nitrogen fertilizer purchases because of financial pressures, while global potash demand remained strong. This divergence places phosphate performance in an environment of higher production costs and some customers postponing purchases, while potash demand remains strong.
Nutrien cut its 2026 phosphate sales forecast to a range of 2.40–2.55 million tons, citing delayed customer demand and lower operating rates at White Springs. It also lowered the range for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in its retail segment to $1.72–$1.85 billion, while raising the low end of its potash sales volume forecast to a range of 14.3–14.8 million tons. The company lowered its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $1.95–$2.00 billion, saying the revision reflected a focus on capital efficiency and structural free cash flow growth. The guidance reflects divergent trajectories across the company’s segments, with lower phosphate and retail estimates offset by a higher low end for potash sales volumes. White Springs-related expenses are expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, ahead of the announced operations shutdown.
Nutrien expects to record expenses in the fourth quarter of 2026, including a non-cash impairment of White Springs assets; the carrying value of the assets under review was $430 million as of September 30, 2026. The assessment will precede the planned closure in the second quarter of 2027, while the company had said the facility would account for about one-fifth of phosphate sales and more than a quarter of the segment’s cost of goods sold in 2026. Nutrien shares listed in New York closed at $72.21 on November 5, 2026, according to EL7 data. The company also expects U.S. farmers to catch up on fall fertilizer applications in the coming weeks as weather improves and they seek to replenish nutrients depleted by this year’s crops. Chief Executive Ken Seitz said North American production gives Nutrien an advantage over producers in regions such as Europe, where natural gas costs are much higher.