US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares

ChemicalsAdd to myFTGet instant alerts for this topicManage your delivery channels hereRemove from myFTUS fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts sharesCF Industries aided by access to low-cost US natural gas as energy crisis slams Asian and European competitorsCF Industries’ UK subsidiary plant in Teesside, England. The Illinois-based company’s shares are up 25 per cent since the war began at the end of last month © CF IndustriesUS fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on x (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on facebook (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on linkedin (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on x (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on facebook (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on linkedin (opens in a new window)US fertiliser bosses cash in as Iran war boosts shares on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save George Steer and Christian Davies in New YorkPublishedMarch 21 2026Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Executives at an American fertiliser manufacturer have pocketed more than $30mn selling their own stock since the start of the war in Iran as access to low-cost US natural gas has turbocharged the company’s shares.Natural gas prices have surged far higher in Asia and Europe than in the US as Iranian attacks on Gulf refineries and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have roiled energy markets and shaken industrial supply chains. Natural gas is a crucial component in the production of nitrogen fertilisers such as urea and ammonia, which underpin about half of global food production.Illinois-based CF Industries has emerged as an early winner from the chaos in the Middle East, with its shares up 25 per cent since the war began at the end of last month — the third best-performing S&P 500 stock over the same period. Its plants in Donaldsonville, Louisiana — which include the world’s largest ammonia production complex — are roughly 60 miles from a US natural gas trading hub where gas prices were about $3 per million British thermal units on Friday. By comparison JKM, the Asian benchmark, was trading at about $22.CF Industries insiders have sold shares worth a combined $33.4mn over the past three weeks, securities filings show. The company was last week named in a lawsuit filed by a US farming union against several fertiliser groups, alleging that the defendants colluded to boost prices. CF Industries declined to comment on the share sales. In response to the lawsuit, it said: “CF Industries has received the complaint and rejects its meritless claims. We intend to vigorously defend the company.” The company noted in its annual report last week that it enjoys a structural advantage over non-US competitors by having “access to low-cost and plentiful natural gas in an industry where the global product price is set by producers who rely on high-cost natural gas.”CVR Partners, a fertiliser company backed by Wall Street activist Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises, has been another beneficiary of the energy crisis, with its shares up 23 per cent since the war broke out.Shares in US-listed chemicals company LyondellBasell have meanwhile gained 26 per cent since February 28, when the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran. Morgan Stanley estimates that around 9 per cent of global plastic flows have been impacted by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. LyondellBasell’s chief financial officer Agustin Izquierdo told a JPMorgan industrials conference on Tuesday that the Iran conflict had triggered higher prices for its products such as polyethylene, which is used for packaging including plastic bags or bottles, and polypropylene, which can be used to make plastic automotive parts and medical equipment.While North American petrochemical plants tend to use low-cost, domestically produced natural gas liquids such as ethane, the price of which has remained relatively stable since the outbreak of the conflict, European and Asian plants tend to rely on naphtha, a crude oil derivative which has surged in price in recent weeks.Analysts from JPMorgan noted this week that Asia sources more than 50 per cent of its naphtha from the Middle East, forcing petrochemical producers in Japan and South Korea to cut output.In contrast, Izquierdo said every $100 per metric ton rise in the price of polyethylene would translate to a $320mn profit boost for LyondellBasell, adding that “we still have room to increase [production] by 5 per cent to 10 per cent, which is obviously very supportive for us.”Ross Eisenberg, president of industry group America’s Plastic Makers, noted that “chemical and plastic manufacturers in the US are well-positioned compared to other regions because our manufacturers rely on domestically produced shale gas.”But he cautioned that “a prolonged conflict that reduces the global supply of oil and gas can still have ripple effects in the US even with our shale advantage, and that could increase costs on the inputs needed to manufacture plastics and petrochemicals.”Additional reporting by Gregory Meyer in New YorkReuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section Follow the topics in this article Middle East war Add to myFT US companies Add to myFT US equities Add to myFT Oil & Gas industry Add to myFT Natural gas Add to myFT Comments