12 Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World

Published on August 28, 2022 at 10:28 am by Hamna Asim in Lists, News

In this article, we discuss the 12 biggest agriculture companies in the world. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of the agriculture industry, click 5 Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World.

Agriculture has evolved from basic farming practices into a highly diverse sector, with enhanced soil preparation techniques, crop nutrients for a healthier yield, genetically modified soils, and superior seeds for super-crops. These developments have propelled the agriculture industry into a highly commercial sector of the economy. According to the OECD, the global demand for agricultural output will grow by 15% in the next 10 years, and the agricultural producers worldwide will be able to keep up with the elevated demand with enhanced farming practices.

There are several macro uncertainties after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and this makes it impossible to predict the future outlook for any industry accurately. The strong connection between the fertilizer and energy markets can lead to spillover effects for agricultural suppliers around the world. Although countries are shifting from their suppliers of agricultural inputs from Russia and Ukraine to alternative sources, this will lead to significantly higher prices for commodities. Russia and Ukraine are among the largest exporters of agricultural raw materials.

Industry analysts have warned about impending food shortages in the current macro backdrop, as the skyrocketing prices for fertilizers and soil nutrients are unaffordable for most small-scale farmers, who cannot keep their yields up. Brazil, a major exporter of soybean and corn, reported that farmers are using least quantities of fertilizer for their crops. The Brazilian government is trying to mine potash from protected indigenous lands in the country.

Similarly, farmers in Kenya and Zimbabwe have shifted to manure as a source of crop nourishment amid the skyrocketing prices for plant health solutions. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has projected that fertilizer bills will increase by 12% in 2022, compared to the 17% surge in the previous year. Russia and Belarus accounted for 40% of potash exports worldwide, and Russia and Ukraine combined contributed to 30% of global wheat exports and 20% of corn exports. These quantities cannot be realistically matched by alternate producers around the world, even at higher prices. This is why a global food crisis is on the horizon according to market experts.

Photo by Sebastian Gómez on Unsplash

Our Methodology

After an extensive assessment of the global agriculture industry, we picked the biggest agriculture companies based on their market capitalization as of March 23. We have mentioned the revenue and income for 2021, as well as available analyst ratings and business fundamentals of the companies.

Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World

12. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $64.133 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 1

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) is a German multinational life sciences company that develops and sells agricultural chemicals, seeds, and biotechnology solutions. The company also operates in the pharmaceutical sector, providing consumer health products. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY)’s market capitalization on March 23 exceeded $64 billion, making it one of the largest agricultural entities in the world.

On March 10, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) announced plans to sell its Environmental Science Professional segment to Cinven, a London-based private equity firm, for $2.6 billion. This will enable Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) to focus primarily on its main agricultural business.

The company reported on March 1 a Q4 net profit of €1.16 billion, above the net profit expectations of €731 million by analysts. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) also guided for higher earnings and sales in 2022. Its agricultural crop science division reported sales that were up 11% year-over-year, reaching €4.69 billion.

Barclays analyst Emily Field raised the price target on Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) to €60 from €55 and maintained an Equal Weight rating on the shares on March 15. The stock has gained over 13% in the last month, benefiting from the Russian war which propelled agricultural shortages in the world.

The Q4 database of Insider Monkey suggests that Frederick Disanto’s Ancora Advisors held 710 shares of Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY), worth $9,000.

In addition to Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR), Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BAYRY) is one of the most prominent names in the global agriculture market.

11. CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $1.486 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 4

CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN) is a Texas-based nitrogen fertilizer company that supplies ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and urea products for agricultural and industrial applications. CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN)’s market cap on March 23 came in at approximately $1.5 billion. The stock has gained roughly 36% in the last month, as the war has caused demand to rise considerably, owing to shortages of agricultural inputs.

The total revenue at the end of December 2021 exceeded $532 million, compared to $350 million in 2020. CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN) reported a net income of $78.2 million in 2021, a significant improvement from a net loss of $98.2 million in the prior year.

On February 25, CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN) declared a $5.24 per share quarterly dividend, a 78.8% increase from prior dividend of $2.93. The dividend was paid on March 14, and the stock yields 7.11% as of March 23.

The Q4 database of Insider Monkey reported that 4 hedge funds held long positions in CVR Partners, LP (NYSE:UAN), compared to 5 funds in the prior quarter. Glendon Capital Management owned the largest stake in the company, with 133,523 shares worth over $11 million.

10. ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $15.253 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 8

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL)’s market cap of more than $15 billion has led the company to be featured on our list of the biggest agriculture companies in the world. ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company supplies specialty minerals and chemicals worldwide, offering potash, phosphate-based fertilizers, functional food ingredients, and phosphate additives.

On February 9, ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) declared a $0.1318 per share quarterly dividend, a 57.7% increase from its prior dividend of $0.0836. The dividend was distributed on March 8, to shareholders of record on February 23. The stock yields 2.68% as of March 23.

ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) reported its Q4 results on February 9, posting earnings per share of $0.26, above consensus by $0.10. Revenue over the period jumped roughly 55% year-over-year to $2.04 billion, topping market estimates by $118.90 million. The company expects full year adjusted EBITDA for 2022 to fall between $1,850 million and $2,050 million, of which $875 million to $925 million will be gained from its specialties-focused businesses.

According to the fourth quarter database of Insider Monkey, 8 funds reported owning stakes in ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL), up from 6 funds in the earlier quarter. The total stakes held in Q4 amounted to approximately $71 million.

9. FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $16.525 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) is a Pennsylvania-based agriculture sciences company that offers products and solutions for crop protection and plant health. FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The market capitalization of FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) stands at $16.5 billion, making it one of the largest agricultural companies worldwide.

On February 25, FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share. The dividend will be distributed on April 21, for shareholders of record on March 31.

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) published its fourth quarter results on February 9, reporting earnings per share of $2.16, outperforming analysts’ estimates by $0.15. The revenue jumped 22.69% year-over-year to $1.41 billion, above market consensus by $47.32 million. The full-year revenue for 2021 crossed $5 billion, and the net income came in at $736.5 million.

Citi analyst P.J. Juvekar lifted the price target on FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) to $152 from $137 and kept a Buy rating on the shares on March 23. The analyst contended that the Russia-Ukraine war has caused fertilizer prices to hike, given supply concerns in already struggling markets.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 27 funds were bullish on FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) at the end of the December quarter, compared to 28 funds in the prior quarter. Cardinal Capital held the biggest stake in FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC), with 976,795 shares worth $107.3 million.

Here is what Tweedy, Browne Company had to say about FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) provides crop chemicals for the agriculture industry. Crop chemicals protect farmers’ fields from insects, fungus, and weeds, which allows them to increase their crop yields. As a result, farmers are more than willing to pay a price premium for effective products. Similar to pharmaceutical companies, crop protection products also are often “patented,” which gives them pricing power. In addition, the development time and investment, combined with navigating the regulatory process in a variety of jurisdictions, and then achieving distribution at scale, provide immense barriers to entry in the industry. Small companies may be able to conduct research on active ingredients, but it will be difficult for them to “commercialize” them. Given all of this, FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) has enjoyed a high return on capital and has been a very profitable business, earning a 27% EBITDA margin and a 25% ROE including goodwill for the year 2020.

FMC is diversified geographically and by crop, which should serve to make it a less cyclical business. It also has, in our view, a very good new product pipeline, and aims to grow its revenues at 5% to 7% annually through 2023, and its EBITDA at 7% to 9% annually through 2023. The company also has had some insider purchases recently from both its CEO and CFO…” (Click here to see the full text)

8. CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $22.321 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) markets and sells agricultural and construction equipment. The company operates across 180 countries, catering to customers in high growth markets. The Agriculture segment of CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) offers farm machinery such as tractors, cotton pickers, harvesters, hay and forage equipment, planting equipment, and soil preparation and cultivation implements. The company has global headquarters in London.

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) delivered solid Q4 results on February 9, reporting an EPS of $0.25, topping market estimates by $0.04. The $9.07 billion revenue was up 6.72% year-over-year, coming in above market consensus by $2.61 billion. The full-year revenue for 2021 amounted to $33.4 billion, a significant increase from the 2020 revenue of $26 billion. Similarly, while the company reported a net loss of $493 million in 2020, the 2021 net income of $1.7 billion showed the resilience of operations post-pandemic.

On March 1, CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) announced the board approval of a share buyback program up to €100 million. The company also announced that on February 24, 2022, its CEO Scott W. Wine purchased 150,000 of CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) common shares at an average price of $13.6881.

Citi analyst Timothy Thein resumed coverage of CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) on February 18 with a Buy rating and a $19 price target. The analyst observed the stock’s “compelling” 12-month total return potential based purely on the company’s earnings growth. He also remained positive on global agriculture equipment fundamentals, and believes growing precision adoption will help with greater pricing power.

Among the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 35 elite funds held long positions in CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) in Q4 2021, up from 25 funds in the prior quarter. Harris Associates is the biggest shareholder of the company, owning approximately 98 million shares worth $1.90 billion.

Here is what Longleaf Partners Fund has to say about CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“CNH Industrial (55%, 2.51%; 16%, 0.65%), a leading farm equipment and commercial vehicle manufacturer globally, was another top performer for the year. CNH reported strong results throughout the year, beating our initial conservative expectations. The US agricultural cycle has been firmly in the company’s favor, driven by commodity price strength, healthy farm balance sheets, advanced technology adoption, and aging fleets feeding replacement demand. We believe we are past the mid-cycle but expect the strong upcycle to continue with the solid order books and strong visibility. On December 31, 2021, CNHI completed the demerger of its on-highway business, which includes its IVECO commercial vehicles and FPT powertrain businesses. This transaction creates a pure play off-highway company comprising the higher-multiple agricultural, construction and specialty vehicle businesses. We expect a narrowing of the discount to the net asset value once we have two focused companies valued at peer multiples.”

7. Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $58.21 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 36

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada, and the company provides potash, nitrogen, phosphate, and sulfate products. Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) deals in crop nutrients and plant protection solutions. The company made it to our list of the biggest agriculture companies in the world owing to its market cap of over $58 billion.

The company posted a 12-month revenue of $26.8 billion for 2021, up from $20 billion last year. Similarly, the net income at the conclusion of 2021 stood at $3.1 billion, an exponential increase from the 2020 net income of $459 million.

Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) is also positioned to gain from the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and the stock has climbed over 36% in the last month resultantly. Citi analyst P.J. Juvekar on March 22 raised the price target on Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) to $126 from $89 and kept a Buy rating on the shares, citing the competitive advantage for fertilizer names in the high-price environment amid the war backdrop.

First Eagle Investment Management held the largest stake in Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR), owning 11.3 million shares worth $853.2 million. Overall, the Q4 data of elite funds maintained by Insider Monkey suggests that 36 hedge funds were bullish on the stock, with collective stakes of approximately $870 million.

Here is what Miller/Howard Investments had to say about Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR) in its Q1 2021 investor letter:

“For the most part, performance of the stocks within the Income-Equity Strategies was skewed towards the high-performing market sectors with two exceptions – our consumer discretionary and technology stocks both did better than their broad market peers… We bought Nutrien (NTR), a producer of fertilizer, which we believe should benefit from increasing crop prices.”

6. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)

Market Capitalization as of March 23: $15.98 billion

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 38

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is an American agribusiness that serves customers worldwide, providing agricultural commodities such as soybeans, rapeseed, canola, sunflower seeds, wheat, and corn. The company also supplies non-GMO items, refined oils, and corn-milling products.

At the conclusion of 2021, the company’s financials were significantly higher than the prior year. Revenue for 2021 exceeded $59 billion, compared to $41.4 billion in 2020. The net income of $2.07 billion in 2021 was also above the $1.14 billion recorded at the end of the prior year. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) has a market cap of close to $16 billion, making it one of the biggest agriculture names in the world.

On February 14, Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer raised the price target on Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) to $120 from $110 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst expects “another solid year” after Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)’s projection for an EPS of at least $9.50 in 2022.

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is a popular food stock in the finance world. A total of 38 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey reported long bets on Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG), and Jack Woodruff’s Candlestick Capital Management was the biggest shareholder, with a $95.6 million position.

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is one of the leading forces in the global agriculture market, just like Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE:NTR), Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM).

Click to continue reading and see 5 Biggest Agriculture Companies in the World.

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