The Missouri-based company reported both its weakest fourth quarter and lowest annual adjusted profit since 2019.

Bunge shares were down five per cent in premarket trading after soaring more than 30 per cent since the start of the year.

A global grains glut has weighed on crop prices, thinned processing and eroded profitability in the agribusiness sector, affecting Bunge and peers such as ADM and Cargill. Trade turmoil triggered by U.S. President Trump’s tariff wars and uncertainty over biofuels policies further dragged on earnings as customers became more cautious due to market uncertainty, reluctant to book deals beyond the near-term.

Bunge reported adjusted earnings of $1.99 per share (C$2.72) for the quarter ended December 31, down from $2.13 a year earlier, but above the consensus analyst estimate of $1.81, according to data compiled by LSEG. Full-year 2025 adjusted profit fell to $7.57 a share (C$10.34), from $9.19 a year earlier.

The company forecast 2026 adjusted earnings per share between $7.50 and $8.00 (C$10.25 to $10.93), below Wall Street expectations of $8.71.

Disruptions, delays drag profits

Bunge’s expanded grain handling and processing capacity following its merger with Viterra in mid-2025 has boosted volumes and revenue, but trade disruptions and delays in finalizing biofuels policies have dragged on profitability, particularly in the United States.

Bunge CEO Greg Heckman said “forward visibility remains limited amid dynamic market conditions.”

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday published proposed rules governing how biofuel makers can access larger tax credits for producing green fuels. The rules would incentivize use of feedstocks from North American oilseed crops like soy and canola and include tweaks to methodology for calculating the carbon intensity of feedstocks.

The market is still awaiting final rules on biofuel blending quotas, expected next month. They are expected to keep quotas close to an initial proposal boosting volumes while dropping a plan to penalize imports of renewable fuels and feedstocks.

Rival grain trader Archer-Daniels-Midland, whose operations are more concentrated in the U.S., forecast 2026 adjusted profit below analysts’ expectations on Tuesday due to the deferral of U.S. biofuel policy.

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Its shares were down 4.25 per cent in premarket trading.

Chicago-based ADM reported its weakest fourth-quarter adjusted profit since 2019 as slumping soybean processing margins in North and South America and poor U.S. soybean exports dented earnings for its Agricultural Services and Oilseeds business, its largest segment.

Low prices erode profits

A global grains glut that has dragged down prices of staple crops like corn and soybeans to near multi-year lows has eroded profits for ADM and agribusiness peers like Bunge and Cargill. U.S. biofuel policy delays and trade turmoil stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff wars created further pressure on the global grains merchants.

The downbeat outlook comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department concluded investigations into whether ADM had inflated the performance of a key business segment. ADM agreed to pay a $40 million civil penalty to settle SEC charges while the DOJ closed its criminal investigation, drawing a line under a years-long scandal that forced the company to twice revise its financial reports.

ADM reported adjusted earnings of 87 cents per share for the quarter ended December 31, down from $1.14 a share a year earlier but above the consensus analyst estimate of 80 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

CEO Juan Luciano said operating profit for 2025 was affected by a turbulent global trade landscape and ongoing uncertainty around U.S. biofuel policy. Resolutions “should support a more constructive operating environment for us in 2026,” he added.

Biofuel policy delay creates caution

The U.S. government has been slow to finalize some biofuels policies, a delay that has slowed use of feedstocks like the soybean oil produced at ADM processing plants.

ADM reported adjusted earnings for 2025 of $3.43 per share. Its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook of $3.60 to $4.25 per share hinged on those biofuel policies and whether slumping soy processing margins improve. The midpoint is less than analysts’ average estimate of $4.24 apiece, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Last month, Reuters reported that the Trump administration plans to finalize long-delayed 2026 biofuel blending quotas by early March, keeping them close to its initial proposal while dropping a plan to penalize imports of renewable fuels and feedstocks.

The delays have led biofuel makers and the suppliers of feedstocks like ADM to hold back on deals and delay spending decisions that shape output and margins.

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Strong South American soybean exports boosted results in Bunge’s soybean processing and refining segment after bumper harvests in Argentina and Brazil and as top soy importer China shunned U.S. supplies due to trade tensions.

The earnings beat comes as Bunge and its agribusiness peers have grappled with ample global crop supplies and slumping margins, and as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats upended global trade.

Trade, biofuels policy expected to drag on profits

Ongoing trade and biofuels policy uncertainty will be a drag on fourth-quarter earnings as farmers selling crops to Bunge and customers buying its products have been reluctant to book deals beyond the near term, company executives said, pressuring margins for Bunge.

“Policy decisions, including biofuels and trade, remain in flux as we look ahead to 2026,” CEO Greg Heckman said.

Bunge’s adjusted profit of $2.27 per share (C$3.21) for the quarter ended September 30 was its lowest third-quarter result since 2019, although it topped analysts’ average estimate of $2.09 per share, according to LSEG data.

The company reaffirmed its previous earnings guidance of between $7.30 and $7.60 per share for 2025, noting headwinds from policy uncertainty but adding that conditions were “developing favorably.”

Merger with Viterra bolstered profits

Rival grains trader Archer-Daniels-Midland lowered its 2025 outlook on Tuesday to a six-year low as trade and policy uncertainty sapped demand and eroded margins.

Bunge’s completed merger with Viterra bolstered its crop marketing and origination capacity and expanded its soy processing business in Argentina.

The company’s soybean processing and refining segment posted an adjusted quarterly profit of $478 million, a 67 per cent gain from the same quarter a year earlier, while softseed processing and refining unit profit more than doubled.

Profit in Bunge’s grain merchandising and milling division was up 56 per cent, as higher wheat milling and ocean freight earnings more than offset poor grain merchandising results.

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Shares of the company, however, rose 11.6 per cent in early trading. UBS analyst Manav Gupta said investors had feared a worse outlook.

“Dilution is coming in much better than expected. This lifts the overhang on the stock and we expect a big relief rally in this name,” Gupta said in a note.

Why it matters: The merger of Viterra and Bunge, which created a company of similar scale to Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill, raised concerns among Canadian farm groups over the effects of market consolidation.

Bunge completed its merger with Glencore-backed Viterra in July, two years after announcing the $34 billion (C$47.7 billion) mega-deal.

“We believe based on updated provided today, that Viterra might not cause any dilution in 2026, setting up for a potentially big beat and raise for 2026,” Gupta added.

The merger with the Netherlands-based Viterra creates a global crop trading and processing giant that is poised to rival agribusiness giants Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill.

Meanwhile, slumping grain prices, weak crop-processing margins and geopolitical tensions have eroded profitability in the sector.

Bunge does not plan to provide specific outlook for 2026 until the first half of the year as it is navigating biofuel policy uncertainties and trade issues, company executives told investors on a conference call.

From the third quarter, its results will include separate segments for soybean, softseed, other oilseeds, as well as another division for grain merchandising and milling.

Bunge projects softseeds to become more “meaningful” and the combined company to see a big increase in handling and processing of corn, wheat and barley.

The company now expects 2025 adjusted earnings per share between $7.30 and $7.60 (C$10.25 to $10.67), compared with $7.75 per share forecast earlier. Analysts estimate the company’s full-year adjusted profit per share at $7.47, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Bunge is scheduled to release its third-quarter results on November 5.

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