Viterra merger underpins Bunge’s growth outlook as trade and tariff tensions bite
Key takeaways
- Bunge’s Viterra acquisition strengthens its global footprint, connecting farmers to high-demand markets across grains, oilseeds, and specialty oils.
- Q4 earnings reflect challenges as net income dropped to US$95M from US$602M YoY amid record harvests, global grain surplus, and trade volatility.
- Despite external uncertainties, Bunge expects an optimistic outlook for 2026.
In an earnings call this week, Bunge CEO Gregg Heckman reiterated that last year’s merger with Viterra is helping the company expand its global footprint, as the combined company is well-positioned to connect farmers in the world’s largest production regions with areas of the fastest-growing consumption.
The business combination was completed in July 2025.
In a fourth-quarter earnings call, Heckman said: “This combination brings both organizations together within our proven end-to-end value chain operating model, removing complexity and strengthening shared goals. As a result, we’ve increased connectivity and the flow of information across our combined organization — a crucial component to how we operate.”
Last year, Bunge had to contend with a record harvest and global grain glut. Net income in the last quarter of 2025 was US$95 million, compared with US$602 million in the same period in 2024.
But Bunge’s leadership team credits the acquisition of the Canadian grain giant for putting it in a very strong position for growth.
“And while we’ve been integrating Viterra, we’ve also been navigating trade flows, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical volatility, all while staying focused on connecting farmers to end-market demand across food, feed, and fuel,” added Heckman.
Geopolitical disruptions and biofuel uncertainty
Pointing to a complex external environment, Heckman warned that geopolitical tensions, evolving trade flows, and uncertainty around biofuel policy, particularly in the US, continue to influence farmer and consumer behavior.
These issues make forecasting challenging, but “based on what we can see today in the current environment and forward curves, we expect full-year 2026 adjusted EPS in the range of US$7.50 to US$8,” he said.
Adjusted segment earnings before interest and taxes were US$756 million in the quarter versus US$546 million last year, with all segments showing higher year-over-year results.
During the earnings call, CFO John Neppl noted slightly higher results in the soybean processing and refining segment, which were primarily driven by South America, reflecting higher processing and refining results in Argentina and Brazil.
“In the soft seed processing and refining segment, higher results were primarily driven by better average processing margins and the addition of Viterra’s soft seed assets and capabilities,” Neppl said.
“Higher soft seed process volumes primarily reflected the company’s increased production capacity in Argentina, Canada, and Europe. Higher merchandise volumes were driven by the company’s expanded soft seeds origination footprint. For the other oil seeds processing and refining segment, improved results reflected stronger specialty oils performance in Asia and North America, along with higher global oils merchandising activity.”
Neppl also pointed to the grain merchandising and milling segment, where higher results were primarily driven by global wheat and barley, as well as wheat milling, partially offset by lower results in global corn and ocean freight.
Bunge’s full-year 2025 results
Bunge’s total net income for 2025 was approximately US$816 million, down about 28% compared to 2024 when it was US$1.14 billion.
The company reports net sales of US$70.33 billion, which is up from US$53.11 billion in 2024.
Full-year 2025 adjusted profit fell to US$7.57 a share, from US$9.19 a year earlier.
Heckman says: “2025 was a year of significant achievement for Bunge. We completed our transformational combination with Viterra, advanced major growth projects across our global network while successfully navigating evolving markets and geopolitical uncertainty.”
“While forward visibility remains limited amid dynamic market conditions, our expanded capabilities, more balanced global footprint, and diversified value chains give us the tools to better adapt, manage risk, and continue connecting farmers to global demand for food, feed, and fuel in any environment.”
“We look forward to sharing more details on our long-term outlook, synergy capture, and capital allocation priorities at our Investor Day on March 10.”
