Monsanto Company (MON - Free Report) has carved a name for itself in the global agricultural chemicals’ industry. The company tries to enhance the yield and quality of several commercial and non-commercial agricultural crops such as cotton, soybean and corn.

Currently, MON has a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), but that could definitely change after the release of its second-quarter fiscal 2018 (ended February 2018) results. 

We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:

Earnings: MON reported adjusted earnings of $3.22 per share in second-quarter fiscal 2018 (on an ongoing basis), lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.38 cents per share.

Revenue: MON posted revenues of $5,019 million in second-quarter fiscal 2018, lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,489 million.  

Key Factors: MON perceives that improved glyphosate pricing and stronger demand for innovative crop yield enhancing solutions such as Intacta RR2 PRO soybeans will boost near-term results.

MON anticipates to successfully close Bayer AG’s (BAYRY - Free Report) buyout deal by the end second calendar quarter of 2018.

Stock Price:At the time of writing, the stock price of MON was down nearly 0.96% ($1.12) in the pre-market trade on Nasdaq. Clearly the initial reaction to the release is negative. We perceive that the company’s weaker-than-expected earnings result has primarily driven the negative sentiment.

As of Apr 5, 2018, MON’s stock closed the trading session at $116.75 per share.  

Monsanto Company Price