Nutrien (TSX:NTR) Stock Earnings: What to Watch on Monday

Nutrien (TSX:NTR)(NYSE:NTR) stock releases its earnings on Monday, so what can investors expect after the record-setting results of the quarter before?

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published October 31, 2021 9:30 am EDT

Key points

Analysts expect a 9.5% increase quarter over quarter in revenue for Nutrien (TSX: NTR)(NYSE: NTR) stock.
The company closed an acquisition last quarter and increased its annual guidance, hitting records. But can it do it again?

Nutrien, the world’s largest provider of crop nutrients and services, will announce its earnings on Monday, Nov. 1 after market close. This will be followed by a conference call the next day, Nov. 2 at 10 a.m. ET.

Motley Fool investors will watch the Saskatchewan-based nutrient company for signs that optimism can continue. Nutrien stock set records last quarter, beating analyst expectations. In fact, it’s done this for the last four consecutive quarters. Furthermore, revenue growth remains incredible given supply chain issues, more than doubling quarter over quarter last earnings report.

So, let’s take a look at what Motley Fool investors can expect on the TSX from Nutrien stock.

Earnings

Nutrien stock has had a strong run in 2021. The stock continues to trade at all-time highs, up 31% as of writing. This comes from a variety of sources, with analysts believing the stock has a further 13% to go to reach fair value.

Last quarter was a record-setting one for Nutrien stock, with Motley Fool investors witnessing adjusted EBITDA of $3 billion, and free cash flow of $1.9 billion in the first half of 2021. This was an increase of 36% and 40% year over year, respectively. This significantly beat the company’s previous record from the first half of 2019.

A notable change was an increase in its digitally enabled retail platform, which brought in $1.6 billion in the first half of the year. That was nearly double the sales compared to the year before.

But what Motley Fool investors need to notice is Nutrien stock continued to reference the first half of the year, rather than the quarter. In this light, numbers change. Whereas earnings per share offered a 262% surprise for analysts the quarter before, they remained in line with estimates for the next quarter.

Growth

For the next quarter, Motley Fool investors should pay close attention to two things. The first is its Terra Nova acquisition. This saw the addition of a retail business in Brazil, which continues its growth-through-acquisition strategy. It also created an agreement with EXMAR NV to “develop and build low-carbon, ammonia-fueled vessel to further reduce maritime transportation emissions.”

The next issue will be to address supply-chain issues that currently plague the entire world. Furthermore, inflation also threatens to put a dampen on the company. More expensive products means companies and indeed countries will need to renegotiate contracts. This could be a poor outcome for Nutrien stock.

Guidance

That being said, last quarter, Nutrien stock raised its full-year 2021 adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $6 billion and $6.4 billion. It also raised its adjusted net earnings per share to between $4.60 and $5.10 for the year. This comes from a variety of avenues, including an increase in the overall business, potash sales, and growth in customers around the world.

As the market opens Tuesday morning, that’s when Motley Fool investors are likely to see change on the TSX. The company is slated to announce its results after market on Monday, Nov. 1.