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Today's Featured Story Not Just Oil: 3 Fertilizer Stocks Boosted by Hormuz ClosureWritten by Dan Schmidt. Article Posted: 3/19/2026. 
Key Points - Crude oil isn't the only commodity seeing its price soar due to the Strait of Hormuz closure.
- Many plant nutrients required for fertilizer, like nitrogen, phosphate, and potash, are produced in the Persian Gulf and shipped through the Strait.
- With an estimated 30% of global fertilizer stocks now stuck in transit, North American producers are reaping the benefits of high prices and low inputs.
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Soaring gas prices are the most obvious visual reminder of the war in Iran, but crude oil isn't the only commodity shipped through the world's crucial waterway. Fertilizer inputs such as urea, potash, ammonia and sulfur are produced across the Persian Gulf, and an estimated 30–35% of globally traded plant nutrients depend on the contested Strait of Hormuz for transit. While fertilizer prices usually aren't a top concern for most U.S. consumers, disruptions could create problems for the 2026 spring planting season in the Northern Hemisphere, which is just starting. This disruption has also created a tailwind for domestic fertilizer producers, which stand to capture significant margin gains from the supply shock. The Strait of Hormuz Crisis Is Reshaping Global Fertilizer Markets On a normal day you could sail across the Strait of Hormuz in less time than it takes to drive through downtown Manhattan. Its narrowness is also why it has become such a chokepoint — a 21-mile-long corridor between Iran, Oman and the UAE that serves as the only shipping exit from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. San Francisco is the strangest city in America right now—you can hop into a self-driving car and be chauffeured by a robot, but out the window you see addicts slumped in doorways, open-air drug markets, the mentally ill screaming at the sky, and entire city blocks consumed by homeless encampments. It's ground-zero for the most disruptive technological forces of our age, and Erez lives in the Bay Area plugged into the capital, the connections, and the companies reshaping the world—the advancements in AI, blockchain, computing, and biosciences are unlike anything the world has seen before, and a tsunami of disruption is coming for everything all at once. During our most recent broadcast, we exposed what we're calling the most asymmetric opportunity of our careers: an overlooked financial company hiding a multi-billion-dollar blockchain asset Wall Street hasn't priced in—it's one of those rare situations Warren Buffett would describe as raining gold when all you have to do is step outside if you want to get rich. Watch the broadcast before the window closes now Now that Iran has effectively disrupted transit through the Strait, roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day, about 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, and large volumes of petrochemicals are stranded. While the energy sector gets the headlines, the disruption has also affected roughly a third of the global fertilizer supply, including the following chemicals: - Nitrogen fertilizers – Urea and ammonia are the nitrogen-based fertilizers most affected. About 10% of the global urea supply comes from a single facility in Qatar. Roughly 35% of traded urea and 30% of traded ammonia normally transit the Strait; much of that supply has stalled. The shock is already being felt — New Orleans urea prices have reached as high as $680 per metric ton.
- Phosphate and potash – Phosphate-based fertilizers require sulfur, another input shipped through the Persian Gulf; sulfur prices have jumped since the war began. Potash inventories have also fallen sharply year over year. The shortage prompted the U.S. government to invoke the Defense Production Act to boost domestic supplies of phosphorus, which also has military applications.
3 Stocks That Benefit From Higher Fertilizer Prices With global supplies of these nutrients in disarray, companies that produce outside the Persian Gulf — particularly those in North America, where natural gas feedstock costs have not risen as fast — are positioned to benefit. Three fertilizer firms have already rallied on the shortage, and the longer the Strait remains disrupted, the more upside these stocks could see. Nutrien Ltd.: The Safe and Diversified Fertilizer Investment Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd. (NYSE: NTR) is a relatively safe way to play the price shock. It has a large market capitalization (about $37 billion) and produces all three key plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Controlling roughly 20% of the potash market and operating more than 1,500 locations across North America, Nutrien can capture margins regardless of which input price is spiking. Anticipating an extended supply shock, analysts at Wells Fargo and Jefferies upgraded NTR from Neutral to Buy last week, with price targets of $100 and $96, respectively. NTR shares are up more than 25% year-to-date (YTD), but a recent pullback could offer an entry point. The uptrend is intact, with support near the 50-day moving average, although the Relative Strength Index (RSI) recently entered overbought territory, prompting some profit-taking. Momentum should remain favorable as long as the shortages persist. 
CF Industries: Margin Boost From the Nitrogen/Natural Gas Spread CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF) is a pure-play nitrogen producer that makes urea, ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN). The company benefits from a structural advantage: access to relatively inexpensive U.S. natural gas to produce nitrogen-based products, which it then sells into global markets where suppliers face higher feedstock costs and limited LNG supplies. That differential allows CF to offer competitive prices abroad while expanding margins because of its lower input costs. CF shares are up more than 60% YTD, making the stock one of the S&P 500's top performers. Bullish technical momentum remains strong, and the nitrogen price catalyst doesn't appear to be fading soon, so recent dips may reflect short-term profit-taking rather than a trend change. 
Mosaic Co.: Riskier Value Play With Upside Potential The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) carries more operational risk than some peers because of its dependence on sulfur, which is commonly transported through the Strait of Hormuz. Because sulfur is a primary component in phosphate-based fertilizers, Mosaic's ability to expand margins is more constrained even as phosphate and potash prices rise. The company also faced a setback after an EPS miss in its Q4 2025 earnings report, which pushed the stock down about 5% the next day. MOS shares have lagged peers, posting roughly an 18% YTD gain. However, the stock could catch up if Mosaic addresses operational challenges. Technicals show a consolidation pattern between the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and a bullish MACD crossover suggests the stock may be poised to bounce higher off the 50-day. 
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