Updated Version 1 - Corteva Shares Plunge as CEO Warns Brazil’s Economic Downturn Will Persist

Updated with stock price information, additional outlook, analyst comments, and detailed content from the earnings call

Vallari Srivastava/Khusbu Jena

Reuters, November 12 - On Thursday, Corteva (CTVA.N) shares fell to their lowest point in more than a year and were poised to post their biggest ever single-day loss, after the U.S. agrochemical firm warned of continuing weakness in the Brazilian market for the rest of the year.

As one of the world's largest crop protection markets, farmers in Brazil are facing a liquidity crunch as surging interest rates drive up financing costs (link) while input prices are also increasing.

"We did not anticipate the degree and speed of the deterioration in the Brazilian market," said Corteva CEO Luke Kissam during the earnings call. The company had sharply lowered its annual outlook on Wednesday.

"Brazil was already a tough market... In the final few weeks of the third quarter, market conditions deteriorated rapidly, and we've continued to see negative developments since," Kissam said.

"Most of the product we shipped into Brazilian channels last year was not planted," he said, adding that Corteva's inventory within those channels was higher than expected for 2026.

The company expects no substantial improvement in Brazilian market purchasing behavior in the short term; high inventory levels are forecast to reduce core profit by $100 million in 2026.

Corteva, which manufactures crop protection solutions such as herbicides and fungicides, saw its share price drop 20.3% to $9.68.

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Outlook weighs on share price

Earlier this year, the company completed the spin-off of its seeds and genetics business into a separate listed entity, Vylor VYLR.N.

Kristen Owen from Oppenheimer said that Corteva had a "rough start" in its first standalone earnings report after the spin-off.

Salvator Tiano, analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said that given most of the issues are centered in Brazil, third-quarter performance "was not bad in terms of standalone operations."

"The problem is, actual performance deviated significantly from expectations provided in mid-September."

On Wednesday, Corteva slashed its full-year adjusted core profit forecast from about $1.3 billion to $1.1–$1.125 billion. According to data compiled by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the company's adjusted earnings per share is expected to be $0.76 to $0.80, below analyst estimates of $1.63 per share.

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