Agribusiness: Top 10 Companies Leading The Industry

The global agribusiness sector offers some exciting opportunities for investors, offering a unique and promising market that is often overlooked by the average investor..While it may not have the same high profile as high-tech stocks or related commodities markets, its potential for growth and profitability is significant. If your goal is to build a diversified portfolio or to explore potentially profitable new assets, it’s definitely worth checking out the wider agribusiness spectrum.

John Deere is an example of an agribusiness that many new stock traders might not rush to add to their portfolios, but it is an S&P 500 and S&P 100 Component with agricultural revenues amounting to $6.5 billion. ICL Group is best known as a specialty minerals company, but it is a world leader in sustainable fertilizers and agritech innovation, generating $1.74 billion in revenues and trading on the NYSE and TASE.

In recent years, the commodities crisis (high fertilizer and energy costs), inflation, and the cost of living crisis (lower consumer spending), as well as extreme weather events created uncertainty and contributed to a decline in farmer spending. We’ve seen a trend towards reduced revenues for crop protection, fertilizer, retail, and equipment companies. A YoY comparison shows a clear reduction from Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2024.

The agribusiness sector has faced a problematic first quarter in 2024, but the Q1 results are a reflection of macroeconomic conditions and are driven by temporary trends. The fundamentals are intact and the sector shows plenty of potential for future growth. There’s a bottom line with agribusiness - people have to eat. As long as there is a human race, there will be a farming and food production industry, as well as profits for companies and services that support agribusinesses. 

In fact, farmers are still buying agritech products like herbicides, biostimulants, seeds, and fertilizers. They are just more cautious in their purchases and have a “just-in-time” approach to supplies and inventories. Revenues that we might previously have counted in Q1 are more likely to appear in Q2 results. The same pattern applies to sales of tractors and farm equipment. The basic demand exists, but consumers aren’t rushing to buy. There is also a suggestion that farmers are carefully weighing up their requirements for advanced electric farm vehicles with sophisticated sensors and robotics.

There are dozens of agribusiness examples that showcase how companies are bucking global trends, outperforming analyst expectations, and delivering profits and dividends to stock traders. Q3 and Q4 2024 are expected to generate some excellent investment opportunities in the agribusiness sector. Featured below are 10 highly rated companies that every investor should explore in greater detail. 

10 Examples of Profitable Global Agribusinesses

 
Bayer Crop Science

• FWB - BAYN, DAX and EuroStoxx 50 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $8.6 billion

Bayer is a superb example of a multinational that operates a successful agribusiness division. The German conglomerate placed its thriving crop protection, seeds, and biotechnology ventures under the control of Bayer Crop Science. The company is displaying strong resilience in a challenging market and is continuing to invest heavily in agritech innovation. 

ICL Group 

• NYSE and TASE - ICL

• Q1 Revenue - $1.74 billion

ICL is a leading global specialty minerals company and one of the largest fertilizer manufacturers in the world. ICL is a leader in the application of advanced technologies to sustainable agricultural solutions. Its subsidiary Agmatix is also pioneering the development of apps and platforms that allows farmers to transform big data into actionable insights. ICL is also a major investor in new agrifood technologies, partly through its Planet Startup Hub, ICL’s corporate investment arm.

BASF

• FWB - BAS, DAX Component

• Q1 Revenue - $3.8 billion

German multinational BASF is possibly best known for its high quality consumer electronics products. The company’s technical expertise and resources are also channeled into the supply of advanced agricultural products and chemicals. The BASF crop protection technology center in Limburgerhof is responsible for some of the industry’s most advanced crop protection products, as well as cutting-edge research into nutrigenomics.

Corteva

• NYSE - CTVA, S&P 500 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $4.5 billion

Corteva became a public company in 2019 when it ceased to be the agricultural unit of DowDuPont. Corteva is an example of an agribusiness whose products cover a spectrum of seed and seed-applied technologies, crop protection, biologicals, and fruit and vegetable solutions. The company is currently facing a challenging FTC lawsuit that may lower stock prices in Q3 and Q4, but the fundamentals are strong. 

FMC Corporation

• NYSE - FMC, S&P 500 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $918 million

The FMC Corporation is widely known as a chemicals company and a vehicle manufacturer but has positioned itself as a leading agricultural sciences company. Its precision agriculture technology is designed to optimize efficiency at field level and reduce costs for farmers. FMC biologicals are targeting growers who want to improve sustainability while increasing yields. 

Syngenta

• Private company

• Q1 Revenue - $7.4 billion

Syngenta is a private company owned by the multinational conglomerate Sinochem (a Chinese state-owned enterprise.  Sygenta is included as an important agribusiness example that gives a wider insight into the diversity of the sector. The company is focused on the field of crop protection and seed products for farmers but is also active in the development of regenerative agriculture and sustainable solutions. 

American Vanguard Corporation 

• NYSE - AVD

• Q1 Revenue - $135 million

The AMVAC Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of the American Vanguard Corporation and specializes in the production of agrichemicals, pesticides, and associated delivery systems. Its advanced GreenSolutions™ also include biostimulants and biofertilizers. AMVAC has a strong presence across the Americas and Australia, and extended global reach via European distributors and partners.

John Deere

• NYSE - DE, S&P 500 and S&P 100 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $6.5 billion

John Deere is an iconic American tractor brand with a hundred-year history. The company is currently leading the development of next-generation farm vehicles, ranging from general-purpose tractors to specialist vehicles. John Deere is working to produce clean running electric vehicles with integrated advanced technologies that will transform farming. The company also manufactures forestry and construction vehicles and can easily weather any downward trends in the sales of farm vehicles.

CNH Industrial

• NYSE - CHN, Russell 1000 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $3.37 billion

CNH is a major manufacturer of agricultural vehicles and machinery, and is a significant competitor of John Deere. The company is an American-Italian enterprise that is headquartered in the UK but is ultimately controlled by the Agnelli family in Italy. CNH has genuine global reach and challenges DE in its home US market. The CNH manufacturing business is sufficiently diverse to absorb recent negative trends in the agribusiness sector. 

AGCO Corporation

• NYSE - DE, S&P 500 and S&P 100 Component

• Q1 Revenue - $2.9 billion

AGCO is a peer competitor of John Deere and CNH and an important manufacturer of agricultural vehicles, including the famous Massey Ferguson brand. AGCO pursues an aggressive acquisitions strategy and has focused on acquiring software, precision agriculture, and robotics companies in recent years. AGCO is clearly determined to integrate the latest technologies into its agricultural vehicles and benefit from the current technological revolution. 

Key Takeaway Points

The global agribusiness sector is comparable to the high tech sector’s drive to apply next-generation technologies to existing challenges. The sector is hugely innovative and invests heavily in research and development. It’s our opinion that the sector is far less likely to experience bubbles, mainly because the core industries that the sector supports - farming and food production - are both fundamental and dynamic. 

Farming and food production are essential industries, and they also need to adapt to meet the challenges of population growth and climate change. Companies that understand these metrics, and have the resources and culture of innovation to meet the challenges, potentially have a strong future and can continue to expand their share of a growing market.