FMC Corporation FMC is set to release fourth-quarter 2024 results after the closing bell on Feb. 4.

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The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed once. On average, FMC has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of around 17%. The company reported an earnings surprise of 40.8% in the last reported quarter.

FMC is likely to have faced challenges from de-stocking and unabsorbed fixed costs in the fourth quarter. The company's cost actions and new product launches are expected to have contributed to its performance.

FMC’s shares have lost 7.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Agriculture – Operations industry’s 4.2% rise.

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Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

What Do FMC’s Revenue Estimates Say?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter sales for FMC is currently pegged at $1,345.1 million, suggesting a 6.8% year-over-year rise.

The consensus estimate for North America’s revenues is currently pegged at $347.5 million, suggesting a 26.2% year-over-year rise.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Latin America sales is pegged at $517 million, indicating a 19.5% year-over-year increase.

The consensus estimates for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales are pegged at $183 million, calling for a 14.7% year-over-year rise.

The same for Asia is pinned at $273.7 million, indicating a 1.7% decline on a year-over-year basis.

Factors at Play for FMC Stock

FMC is expected to have gained from efforts to expand its product portfolio through new product launches and restructuring actions in the December quarter. FMC is committed to strengthening its product portfolio by investing in new technologies and launching new products, which are gaining significant traction in Europe, North America and Asia. These initiatives are expected to have supported the company's results.  FMC is seeing strong gains in new products including Coragen eVo and Premio Star insecticides and the Onsuva fungicide in Latin America. It sees revenues from new products to grow by roughly $200 million for full-year 2024. 

FMC is also expected to have benefited from reduced input costs, a favorable product mix and cost-control actions. It is also making progress with its global restructuring and cost-reduction program. The benefits from restructuring actions are expected to reflect on its EBITDA in the quarter to be reported.

The company is likely to have faced headwinds from inventory de-stocking. Continued active inventory management is expected to have weighed on its volumes. High channel inventory in India is likely to have remained as headwinds in the fourth quarter. Volumes in India are expected to have remained under pressure due to channel de-stocking. FMC also expects channel inventories in Latin America to improve not before second-half 2025.

FMC also faces challenges from unobserved fixed costs, which are expected to have weighed on its profits in the quarter to be reported. Cost headwinds are expected to have impacted FMC’s EBITDA in the December quarter.

FMC Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

FMC Corporation price-eps-surprise | FMC Corporation Quote

What Our Model Unveils for FMC

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for FMC this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for FMC is -0.08%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the fourth quarter is currently pegged at $1.61. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: FMC currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Basic Materials Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD, slated to release earnings on Feb. 11, has an Earnings ESP of +0.06% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus estimate for DD’s earnings for the fourth quarter is currently pegged at 98 cents.

ATI Inc. ATI, slated to release earnings on Feb. 4, has an Earnings ESP of +3.91% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The consensus mark for ATI’s fourth-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 60 cents.

Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, scheduled to release fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 12, has an Earnings ESP of +36.76%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kinross Gold's earnings for the fourth quarter is currently pegged at 23 cents. KGC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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