Markets

FMC Cut Its Quarterly Revenue Forecast by About 90% and Lost 30% of Its Value in a Day

Crop-chemicals maker FMC said third-quarter revenue will be just $65 million to $125 million, against $840 million to $900 million guided in July. The stock closed at $5.62 on October 15, down 30.53%, after touching $4.85.

Oct 16, 2026

Profit warnings usually trim a forecast by a few percent. FMC's, issued on October 15, removed almost all of it. The agricultural-chemicals company now expects third-quarter revenue of $65 million to $125 million, down from the $840 million to $900 million it guided in July, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $510 million to $565 million.

Most of the hole — $625 million to $675 million — comes from price reductions on product already sitting with distributors and from a reworked pricing and sales model in the United States. In plain terms, FMC is paying its channel to clear inventory that farmers did not buy. "Third-quarter demand was weaker than we expected," chief executive Pierre Brondeau said.

The stock closed at $5.62, down 30.53%, after falling as low as $4.85 during the session. It had closed at $8.09 the day before. FMC said it expects to meet its September 30 debt covenants but will open talks with its banks on modifying them, and that it is assessing whether to write down the value of intangible assets. Full results are due on October 29.

The covenant line is what turns a bad quarter into a balance-sheet story. Covenants are the conditions lenders attach to loans, usually a ceiling on debt relative to earnings; a company that negotiates them before breaking them is signalling that the next few quarters will be tight. Shareholders rank behind the banks in that conversation.

For anyone looking at a 30% drop as a bargain, the question is not how far the stock has fallen but whether the next report shows the inventory problem is over — and the company has not yet said.