A message from our friends at Brownstone Research (sponsor)
Why they're laughing at Bezos (again)
Editor's Note: Tech legend Jeff Brown – the same man who predicted the rise of NVIDIA before it soared 28,080% – is alerting the world to Bezos' quiet return to Amazon. Because the company's latest AI project could kickstart a new $26 trillion revolution and light a fire under one tiny Amazon supplier. Click here to see what Brown uncovered or read more below...
Dear Reader,
When Bezos is at his craziest...
That's when the big money is made.
Just look at when he launched his cloud computing service, AWS...
BusinessWeek said it could be a sign he had "slipped off the deep end."
But AWS now brings in $115 billion in yearly profit.
And it looks like Bezos has just made his craziest move yet:
He's testing a strange new kind of AI that analysts say could create a $26 trillion wealth explosion.
And it could be only a matter of weeks before it's rolled out to the public.
When that happens...
One tiny Amazon supplier essential for this $26 trillion AI revolution could soar.
Regards,
Jeff Brown
Founder & CEO, Brownstone Research
P.S. Don't sleep on this – once everyone catches on, the biggest gains could disappear overnight. That's why I suggest you click here to be one of the first to hear about this.
BONUS ARTICLE
Why ‘Invisible Stocks’ Are Suddenly Beating Tech
Bullet Summary
CF and Mosaic are drawing attention as fertilizer markets tighten amid the Iran conflict and Hormuz disruption, which Reuters says is disrupting fertilizer trade flows and lifting costs globally.
CF trades around $136.45 with a market cap near $14.5 billion and a trailing P/E of 10.5; Mosaic trades around $25.00 with a market cap near $11.0 billion and a trailing P/E of 9.0.
Russia has suspended ammonium nitrate exports for a month through April 21, and Reuters notes Russia controls up to 40% of global ammonium nitrate trade, adding a second supply shock on top of Middle East disruption.
The Wall Street Journal reported Egypt urea prices had jumped 54%, while the Middle East supplied nearly 30% of global fertilizers in 2024, underscoring why traders are rotating into Western names.
CF generated $1.46 billion of 2025 net earnings, $2.89 billion of adjusted EBITDA, and $1.79 billion of free cash flow.
Mosaic generated $12.1 billion of 2025 net sales and $2.4 billion of adjusted EBITDA, though Q4 still reflected weak North American demand and Brazil pressure.
The trade is not just “fertilizer prices up.” It is a relative-safe-supply trade: U.S.-based producers look attractive when Gulf output, feedstocks, and shipping lanes are under stress.
Market Context
This is not a normal commodity bounce.
It is a geopolitical repricing of agricultural inputs.
The war in Iran has already pushed traders to think beyond oil. Reuters reported earlier this month that fertilizer supplies, costs, and trade flows are being hit directly by the conflict because the Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for ammonia and other fertilizer-linked products. Reuters also reported on March 6 that blocked exports and disrupted shipping were already pushing fertilizer prices higher ahead of the planting season.
That matters because fertilizer is one of the cleanest “second derivative” trades in a Middle East shock. First comes oil. Then feedstocks. Then freight. Then fertilizer. By the time traders notice fertilizer, the supply chain is usually already under stress.
The market is now seeing exactly that setup. Russia has added a second layer of pressure by suspending ammonium nitrate exports through April 21, and Reuters notes that Russia controls up to 40% of global ammonium nitrate trade. That is not a small side issue. It is the kind of additional restriction that turns a regional supply scare into a broader global tightening cycle.
That is why CF and Mosaic are showing up on screens this morning. This is not purely a “value stock” rotation. It is a rotation into domestic supply, visible earnings power, and lower exposure to Gulf disruption.
Stock-Specific Analysis
CF Industries: the cleaner direct expression
If traders want the purer version of this thesis, CF is the clearer fit.
CF is primarily a nitrogen producer, and nitrogen is the fertilizer category most directly exposed to natural gas economics, ammonia flows, and trade disruption. The company’s 2025 results were strong: $1.46 billion in full-year net earnings, $2.78 billion of EBITDA, $2.89 billion of adjusted EBITDA, and $2.75 billion of operating cash flow. Free cash flow was $1.79 billion. Fourth-quarter net earnings were $404 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $821 million, up meaningfully from the year-ago quarter.
Those numbers matter because CF is not being bought today as a turnaround story. It is being bought as an already-profitable domestic producer that becomes more valuable when seaborne nitrogen markets tighten.
Valuation is also supportive. CF trades at about 10.5x trailing earnings, which is not demanding if nitrogen margins improve or if buyers start treating North American supply as strategically advantaged.
The hidden advantage here is not just price. It is geography. CF’s North American footprint looks more attractive when traders are worried about Egyptian urea, Gulf ammonia, Russian nitrate exports, and Hormuz freight risk at the same time. The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on a 54% jump in Egypt urea prices captures how quickly this market can tighten when Middle East supply is impaired.
Mosaic: more diversified, less clean, still interesting
Mosaic is a slightly different trade.
It is not as clean a nitrogen expression as CF because its business spans potash and phosphate, and it has more moving parts geographically, especially through Brazil. But that also means it offers a broader way to play fertilizer stress if the market starts pricing in a wider agricultural input shock rather than only nitrogen tightness.
Mosaic’s 2025 numbers were solid on the full-year view: $12.1 billion in net sales and $2.4 billion in adjusted EBITDA. But the fourth quarter was mixed. The company posted a $519 million net loss in Q4, though adjusted EBITDA still came in at $505 million and adjusted diluted EPS was $0.22. Management attributed pressure partly to unusually weak North American fertilizer demand, and the company’s materials suggested Brazil created a roughly $250 million Q1 2026 EBITDA headwind versus the prior year.
So why is Mosaic still relevant to this trade?
Because when the market moves from “normal fertilizer cycle” to “global disruption cycle,” investors often care less about clean quarterly comparisons and more about who owns hard assets in constrained markets. Mosaic still trades at only about 9.0x trailing earnings, which gives it room to work if phosphate and potash pricing improve or if global buyers lean harder on Western supply chains.
In other words, CF is the higher-conviction tactical trade. Mosaic is the broader catch-up candidate if the whole fertilizer group gets re-rated.
Sector Implications
This story reaches beyond two tickers.
The WSJ and Reuters are pointing to the same underlying shift: the market is beginning to price fertilizer not only as an agriculture input but as a geopolitical scarcity asset. The Journal noted that Yara, CF, and K+S had all risen as the conflict tightened global supply, while Reuters has repeatedly emphasized the war’s effect on ammonia, fertilizer routes, and planting-season stress.
That has three implications.
First, companies with domestic or politically stable production footprints should command a premium.
Second, import-dependent agricultural regions may face margin pressure, which could feed back into crop economics later this season.
Third, fertilizer and chemicals are starting to behave more like defensive supply-chain names than simple cyclical input stocks.
That is why this group is interesting to traders now. It sits at the intersection of energy, agriculture, geopolitics, and value.
Technical / Trading Framework
From a trading standpoint, CF and Mosaic are not the same setup.
CF already looks more like the leader. It has stronger recent fundamental momentum, cleaner sensitivity to nitrogen prices, and a stock price near the upper end of its recent range. When a stock like that trends on a morning screen, the key question is whether buyers are chasing headlines or underwriting a broader margin revision.
Mosaic is more of a confirmation name. If Mosaic starts participating more forcefully after lagging on its own mixed Q4 setup, that usually tells you the market is broadening the fertilizer thesis beyond just the obvious nitrogen winner.
For traders, the immediate framework is simple:
Watch whether CF can keep outperforming on a day when the broader market is focused on energy and macro. If it does, that suggests institutions are treating fertilizer as a live thematic hedge, not just a one-day news bounce.
Watch whether Mosaic follows. If it lags badly while CF holds up, the market is telling you it wants precision, not broad exposure.
Scenario Modeling
Bull Case
Middle East disruption persists, Russian nitrate restrictions remain in place through April 21, and fertilizer prices continue climbing into planting season. In that setup, CF likely remains the premium name because of its domestic nitrogen exposure, while Mosaic catches a secondary bid as investors broaden the scarcity trade.
Base Case
Supply fears stay elevated, but the market becomes more selective. CF holds leadership because its earnings base and positioning are cleaner. Mosaic participates only modestly because investors remain cautious about Brazil and recent weak demand signals.
Bear Case
Hormuz fears ease, fertilizer prices cool, and traders conclude the move was too fast relative to realized demand. In that scenario, the group can give back gains quickly, especially Mosaic, where the market already has some skepticism around near-term operating pressure.
Active Trader Strategy
The key here is not “buy fertilizer because the Middle East is unstable.”
The key is to watch whether the market keeps rewarding domestic supply over headline risk.
Three things matter next:
First, watch fertilizer pricing indicators and any follow-through commentary around Egyptian urea, ammonia freight, and Russian exports. That is the fundamental backbone of the trade.
Second, watch relative strength between CF and Mosaic. That tells you whether the market wants the clean nitrogen winner or the broader fertilizer basket.
Third, focus on confirmation rather than first reaction. If these names hold gains after the initial macro shock headlines fade, the market is likely telling you this is an earnings and supply thesis, not just a geopolitical impulse trade.
CF Industries and Mosaic are trending for a reason.
The market is beginning to treat fertilizer as a strategic supply-disruption trade, not just an agriculture cyclical. Middle East operational risk, Hormuz disruption, and Russia’s nitrate export suspension have all tightened the narrative around secure Western supply. CF is the cleaner direct expression of that thesis; Mosaic is the more diversified catch-up candidate.
That is why these “invisible stocks” are not so invisible this morning.
Editorial Disclaimer
This commentary is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All market strategies involve risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own analysis or consult a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions.
