FMC's sales fell 80%. A pricing reset explains only part of it.

FMC wants to make its products easier for distributors to sell. Its third-quarter figures show how much work that will take.

The crop-protection company reported $106 million in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, down from $542 million a year earlier. The result includes a $639 million adjustment to pricing and rebates.

The year-earlier figure also contained a $419 million negative adjustment in India, which complicates that comparison.

But FMC's own comparison, excluding India and those adjustments, still shows sales down 22%. Distributors in several markets sharply reduced replenishment orders late in the quarter. Product volumes fell 21%.

The reset reaches stock already sold

FMC had warned about these measures on October 15. The final revenue and adjusted earnings figures landed within the ranges it gave then. The October 29 report adds a clearer view of the cash consequences and lowers expectations for the rest of the year.

The biggest change replaces a North American system of high initial prices followed by large rebates with prices closer to what customers ultimately pay. Closing out the old system and repricing stock already with distributors accounts for roughly $500 million of the hit to its adjusted earnings measure, EBITDA, which excludes interest, taxes and certain accounting charges.

That part does not increase FMC's future cash obligations. A separate roughly $175 million of price credits on distributors' higher-priced inventory will reduce future cash collections. FMC expects to carry out the changes over the next three quarters.

The company is trying to clear a blockage: customers hold products bought at prices above today's market levels and are reluctant to replenish. Simpler pricing may help stock move, but the latest quarter also reveals a substantial fall in orders before the reset.

The hoped-for fourth-quarter recovery shrinks

In July, FMC expected fourth-quarter revenue to return to growth and adjusted EBITDA to reach $275 million to $315 million. It now expects roughly flat revenue at the midpoint and adjusted EBITDA of $210 million to $230 million.

The cash forecast has deteriorated further. FMC now expects to use $150 million to $350 million of free cash flow this year, compared with July's forecast to generate $75 million to $225 million. The new range includes about $180 million of restructuring payments.

Its reported quarterly net loss reached $2.07 billion, including large noncash tax and asset write-downs. The cash drain was much smaller: company-defined free cash flow was negative $18 million, improving from negative $232 million a year earlier as working capital helped. That measure includes cash from discontinued operations and adjusts for investment spending and divestiture costs.

FMC also raised about $403 million in September by issuing new shares to Tessenderlo Group, leaving it with roughly 20% of FMC, including shares it already held. That strengthens financing while spreading future earnings across more shares.

The FMC company profile tracks the earlier forecasts, cash position and completed equity investment.