Bunge posts Q2 earnings beat on strong crush margins, raises 2026 outlook

By Karl Plume and Katha Kalia

July 29 (Reuters) – U.S. agribusiness Bunge Global raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Wednesday as it beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter earnings on robust processing margins for soybeans and other oilseeds and strong demand.

Soaring crude oil prices, after global supply disruptions caused by the Iran war, sent soybean oil prices sharply higher in the quarter, bolstering margins for the world’s largest oilseed processor. Bunge’s expanded processing footprint following its acquisition last year of grain handler Viterra lifted volumes.

But Bunge’s grain merchandising and milling unit results were weaker than anticipated, and Bunge warned that its 2026 outlook for the segment was lower than its previous forecast.

“Though the quarter was solid and the outlook raised, we do see items that could be viewed as slightly disappointing,” JP Morgan analyst Thomas Palmer said in a research note.

Bunge also cited broader market challenges from wars, shifting trade flows and volatile weather patterns that have impacted crop availability and prices.

Black Sea shipping disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war has shifted agricultural trade flows, and tight fertilizer supplies triggered by the Iran war may impact South American crops next season, CEO Greg Heckman said during a conference call with analysts.

Shares were down 7% in early trading.

Still, the earnings beat marked a turnaround for Bunge, which has, like other global crop merchants, grappled with a grains glut for years, while trade disruptions depressed agribusiness earnings in more recent quarters.

Higher U.S. biofuel blending mandates released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year after a lengthy delay also lifted uncertainty that had weighed on earnings in recent quarters.

Processing volumes jumped as U.S. corn and soybean prices climbed sharply since the start of the Iran war, prompting farmers to step up sales of grain held back from last year’s harvest amid the prolonged period of weak prices.

Bunge’s adjusted earnings per share in the quarter ended June 30 jumped to $2.00, from $1.31 in the same quarter a year earlier, topping the consensus analyst estimate of $1.95.

Bunge raised its 2026 adjusted earnings outlook for a second straight quarter to $9.25 to $9.75 per share, up from its previous forecast of $9.00 to $9.50.

(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago and Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo, Kirsten Donovan and Nick Zieminski)