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CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

Rank #361Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

CF · NYSE · Basic Materials

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) — Rank #361 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.18) · ROE 25.3% · Piotroski F-Score 8 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001324404 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

CF Industries Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of ammonia in North America, Europe, and internationally.

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It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments. The company offers ammonia products; nitrogen products, such as granular urea, urea ammonium nitrate solution, and ammonium nitrate; diesel exhaust fluid, urea liquor, and nitric acid products. It serves cooperatives, retailers, independent fertilizer distributors, traders, wholesalers, and industrial users.

The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

Industry
Agricultural Inputs
Sector
Basic Materials
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

2,900

Industry

Agricultural Inputs

Exchange

NYSE

12/12

Flags passed

CF passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.18
Return on equity
25.3%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.69
Current ratio
4.86×
Net cash
-$736.00M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.6%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
19.3%
Piotroski F-Score
8 / 9
Share dilution
-10.2%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 32nd percentile of 39 SIC 28 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.18

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

32nd pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

25.3%

Gross margin

38.5%

42nd pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

19.3%

RPO growth (YoY)

4.5%

Remaining performance obligations growth — RPO > revenue = forward demand building.

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-14.1%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

11.4%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-24.2%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

-19.1%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 24% above net income

Free cash flow

$1.80B

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

23.8%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.6%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net debt $736.00M, F-Score 8/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.69

56th pctl of 35 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

4.86×

87th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

4.14×

Net cash

-$736.00M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

8 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.5 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
22.4%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
5.53×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
0 yr0/5 Weak
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.69 · IC 14.84×4/5 Strong

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.7 / 5

Fair
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-10.2%5/5 Strong
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr0/5 Weak
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
0.9%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Decline
Hypergrowth
Capital Return

Price History

CF+205.6% · +25.0% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR

View full financial statements →

Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports