Is FMC Stock a Buy Now or a Falling Knife?​

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) investors may be beginning to lose hope -- and I can't say I blame them.

Shares of the agricultural chemicals company got cut nearly in half after reporting Q3 earnings in late October. The company reported a 49% drop in sales as it prepared to exit the Indian market, a $4.52-per-share loss -- and fired its president.

Three months later, the company had a chance to redeem itself when it reported Q4 earnings earlier this month. Instead, management missed again on revenue and warned investors of further declines in revenue and profits.

At this point, you might be wondering whether FMC stock is a falling knife, endlessly tumbling end over end and dangerous for an investor to try to grasp (i.e., buy)? But here's the thing: It isn't.

In fact, ever since the catastrophe that was Q3, FMC stock has been more or less treading water, trading in a range of $13 to $17 a share. The stock today costs about $14.50 -- or just about what it cost three months ago when the fertilizer first hit the fan.

And now there's even a reason to consider buying FMC stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

FMC Q4 earnings

Don't get me wrong. FMC is still kind of a basket case. Full-year revenue declined 18% in 2025, down 8% not even counting the India debacle. The company lost $17.88 per diluted share last year -- on a stock that's only worth $14.48!

Still, FMC's core business remains "helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population." Food isn't going out of style, and neither are the farmers who grow it. There's still plenty of demand for FMC's agricultural chemicals. There may even be some demand for FMC itself.

After reporting results this month, FMC said it would "explore strategic options ... to maximize shareholder value." Such options may include selling the company to an acquirer at a premium. (Although "there can be no assurance that the process will result in any transaction.")

Failing a sale of the company, FMC is taking steps to strengthen its business if it continues sailing solo. First and foremost, the FMC will take steps to bolster a balance sheet that currently carries $3.5 billion more debt than cash. The company plans to raise $1 billion "through asset sales and licensing agreements," then use that cash to pay down debt. (One of the assets sold will be FMC's India business.)

Additionally, FMC plans to commercialize four new herbicides and fungicides it has developed -- Isoflex active, fluindapyr, Dodhylex active, and rimisoxafen -- which could help to grow revenue.

Is FMC stock a buy?

Any turnaround, however, will take time. FMC management forecasts a 5% decline in revenue to about $3.7 billion in 2026, a 41% decline in adjusted EBITDA, and break-even free cash flow. By 2027, analysts think the turnaround will be underway, however, with free cash flow approaching $190 million.

On a $1.8 billion stock, that doesn't sound too bad -- but if you factor in FMC's current debt load, the company as a whole sells for an expensive 30 times FCF. Unless you want to bet on a sale of the company, I probably wouldn't bet on FMC stock.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.