Orin
MOSNYSE·Agricultural Inputs

The Mosaic Company MOS

Market cap $7.3BP/E 118.5× trailingGross margin 11.5%Reports Tue 3 Nov, before the open
$22.91
−0.79 (−3.31%)live 11:20 ET
52-wk $19.80 – $36.00
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 20 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Mosaic remains a cyclical name in a tough phosphate market, with FY2025 revenue recovering to $12.05B (up 8.36% YoY) and operating income nearly doubling to $1.05B from $621.5M in FY2024, but FY2025 free cash flow was deeply negative at -$534.6M and total debt climbed to $5.28B from $4.45B. The stock trades at 0.59x sales — a 38.6% discount to the peer median — yet carries a 111.15x trailing P/E against a peer median of 10.48x, reflecting earnings still near a cyclical trough.

With the CEO citing unusually high sulfur prices and constrained supply in the Q2 2026 call, and the price at $22.23 sitting just above its 50-day MA ($22.06) but below its 200-day MA ($24.61), the technical and fundamental picture is mixed enough to warrant patience until FCF turns positive and debt stabilizes.

What could go wrong

  • Negative free cash flow persistence. FY2025 FCF was -$534.6M with capex of $1.36B against operating cash flow of $824.8M; if capex remains elevated and phosphate prices stay weak, FCF could stay negative into FY2026.
  • Rising leverage. Total debt increased to $5.28B in FY2025 from $4.45B in FY2024 and $3.99B in FY2023; the August 2026 debt tender offers suggest active liability management but also signal refinancing pressure.
  • Compressed margins vs. cycle peak. FY2025 gross margin of 15.08% and operating margin of 8.71% remain far below FY2022 peaks of 30.1% and 25.02%, and the CEO flagged high sulfur costs and constrained supply as ongoing headwinds.
  • Extreme P/E distortion. At 111.15x trailing P/E versus a peer median of 10.48x, any further earnings disappointment could amplify downside if the market re-rates the cyclical trough lower.

What would change my mind

FCF turns positive. Quarterly or annual free cash flow turns positive, indicating capex is moderating or operating cash flow is recovering sufficiently to self-fund the business.bullish
Debt stabilization. Total debt declines or holds flat quarter-over-quarter following the August 2026 tender offers, showing leverage is being managed down.bullish
Phosphate margin compression. Sulfur costs remain elevated or rise further while DAP/MAP pricing fails to recover, pushing operating margin below the FY2024 trough of 5.59%.bearish
Technical breakdown below 50-day MA. Price closes below the 50-day moving average of $22.06 on rising volume, confirming loss of near-term momentum.bearish

Where this comes from: FMP fundamentals FY2025 & derived_metrics · FMP fundamentals FY2025 · FMP fundamentals FY2025 & FY2024 · peer_relative as of 2026-08-19. Orin's read on MOS; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$439.6M0.0% of fund
Aqr Capital Management$387.6M0.1% of fund
State Street$318.7M0.0% of fund
Invesco$315.8M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$312.8M0.0% of fund
Fmr$279.7M0.0% of fund

79 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 51 Form 4 filings, net −$7.0M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 2 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Basic Materials
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E118.5×10.2×29.8×
EV/EBITDA7.7×5.7×—
P/S0.63×0.81×—
P/B0.7×1.0×—

Its P/E sits above all 5 of the last 5 years (+7.01σ from its own mean).

What Wall Street published

49 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$26

$22 – $31 · +15% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 15 buy or overweight
  • 26 hold
  • 8 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 12.9× of 2 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
MOSThe Mosaic Company$8B118.5×7.7×11.5%0.4%0%
AAAlcoa Corporation$11B8.7×6.1×18.8%9.4%19%
EMNEastman Chemical Company$8B17.1×9.5×19.9%5.0%7%
WLKWestlake Corporation$9B——4.7%-10.9%-14%

The median is of the 2 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 819.3% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 17.0×FY25 14.2×

What its sector has traded at

Basic Materials
FY14 23.8×FY26 28.6×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$36$20.63 · +73%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$26$20.63 · +28%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $22.91
52-week range$20 – $37
Analyst targets$22 – $31
Standard DCF$36 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $20.63
Levered DCF$26 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $20.63
At own 5y-median P/E (10×)$2
At 5y P/E range (4–45×)$1 – $9
At sector P/E (30×)$6

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.