Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) reported sharply higher second-quarter earnings as record performance in its Renewables segment and improved fertilizer operations lifted results during what management described as an unpredictable first half of 2026.
The company posted net income attributable to The Andersons of $57 million, or $1.65 per diluted share, for the second quarter. Adjusted net income was $74 million, or $2.15 per diluted share, compared with $8 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $140 million from $65 million in the 2025 quarter, while adjusted pre-tax earnings increased to $93 million from $15 million.
Renewables Drives Earnings Growth
The Renewables segment generated adjusted pre-tax income of $88 million, compared with $10 million in pre-tax income attributable during the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment rose to $103 million from $30 million.
Chief Financial Officer Brian Valentine said the company’s ethanol plants produced a record second-quarter volume, supported by efficient operations. Ethanol margins increased significantly from the prior year amid strong domestic and export demand and higher co-product values. The company recorded $24 million of 45Z tax credits during the quarter.
Krueger said Renewables trading desks also improved across products as demand increased, while corn oil prices and volumes strengthened year over year. He said the company expects industrywide biofuel production to continue rising, with ethanol exports expected to remain strong despite recent competition from Brazil.
Management said voluntary ethanol blend-rate increases are occurring because of ethanol’s economics relative to gasoline. Krueger said U.S. blend rates rose 14 basis points from 2024 to 2025, ending 2025 at 10.51%, and he expects a similar or slightly larger increase this year.
Looking into the third quarter, Krueger acknowledged that board crush margins have weakened somewhat from the second quarter. However, he said potential increases in corn prices could raise the value of distillers grains co-products, while demand tied to renewable diesel could support distillers corn oil pricing. He said the company remains confident in the third quarter relative to both the second quarter and the strong third quarter of 2025.
Valentine said the company continues to expect $90 million to $100 million in 45Z credits for the full year. Quarterly credit amounts are expected to vary by only a few million dollars, with the second and third quarters slightly lower than the first and fourth quarters because of maintenance schedules.
Agribusiness Benefits From Fertilizer Execution
Agribusiness reported adjusted pre-tax income attributable of $20 million, up from $17 million in the prior-year quarter. Segment adjusted EBITDA rose to $53 million from $46 million.
Valentine said fertilizer operations benefited from a strong application season, better margins and operational efficiencies. Higher commodity prices and increased volatility also created more merchandising opportunities, although the company’s asset footprint generated limited space income under those market conditions. Its premium ingredients business continued to operate well, he said.
Krueger said fertilizer applications were somewhat more weighted toward the first quarter than the second quarter. Domestic fertilizer prices declined toward the end of the second quarter, but results were largely in line with management’s expectations entering the year.
He attributed fertilizer profitability to operating efficiencies, continued integration into Agribusiness, risk management and the company’s ability to place planned volumes across its locations. Looking ahead, management said significant corn acreage could support fall fertilizer demand, though farm-gate pricing may affect customers’ purchasing decisions. The company is also monitoring global supply conditions and Middle East tensions.
Wheat harvest is nearing completion, and Krueger said the company was pleased with the grain ownership it accumulated despite a smaller overall crop. He expects demand for that ownership to increase later in the year because harvested hard and soft wheat bushels are geographically dispersed.
Conditions for corn and soybeans in the company’s key regions are generally comparable to last year, management said, though above-normal temperatures and reduced rainfall in much of the Western Corn Belt have created a weather-driven market. Krueger noted that dry conditions have reduced hard wheat production in the Skyland region and Kansas, while potentially creating future merchandising opportunities if feed-grain supplies in the West are smaller.
Capital Spending, Growth Projects and Balance Sheet
Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital reached $113 million in the second quarter, compared with $43 million a year earlier, driven by stronger earnings. Capital spending totaled $76 million, up from $49 million in the prior-year period, including spending on growth initiatives and maintenance projects.
The company expects approximately $225 million in capital expenditures for 2026, excluding acquisitions. Its long-term debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 1.3 times, below its stated target of less than 2.5 times.
Management said it continues to evaluate acquisitions and organic projects that meet its strategic and financial requirements. Krueger said the company is pursuing investments intended to lower the carbon intensity of ethanol production and increase output.
The Class VI well permit for the Clymers, Indiana, facility remains under regulatory review. Once approved and operating, management expects the project to further reduce the ethanol carbon-intensity score and generate additional tax credits. Krueger said the company is evaluating similar objectives at each of its plants but did not provide details on unannounced projects.
In Agribusiness, grain-elevator upgrades at the company’s Houston facility have been completed. The remaining soybean meal export portion of the project is expected to become fully operational in the fourth quarter. Krueger said management has spent about nine months working with destination consumers and expects to have sufficient soybean meal business to support the Houston operation.
2028 Earnings Target Remains in Focus
Krueger said The Andersons remains focused on reaching its long-range run-rate earnings-per-share target of $7 by the end of 2028. Favorable market conditions and execution have enabled the company to exceed $6 per share on a trailing-12-month basis, he said.
“The successful completion of remaining key growth projects, solid market conditions, and sustained operational excellence should position us to achieve this target,” Krueger said.
About Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE)
The Andersons, Inc operates as a diversified agriculture company offering a broad range of products and services to farmers, retailers and industrial customers. Through its Grain Group, the company purchases, stores, merchandises and transports corn, soybeans and other commodities, while its Renewables Group produces ethanol and distillers grains at multiple plants in the U.S. The Rail Group provides locomotive leasing, railcar repair and related maintenance services, and the Horticulture Group supplies turf, specialty and horticultural products to landscaping professionals and consumer lawn and garden retailers.
Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, The Andersons has grown from a regional grain elevator operator into an integrated agribusiness platform.
