By Kim Chipman

Corteva Inc. shares jumped the most ever after the maker of seeds and crop protection products said it expects ongoing demand from farmers to drive profits higher over the next two years.

The stock climbed as much as 27% in New York trading before paring back some gains. 

The surge follows a nearly 20% tumble in shares in 2023 as the agriculture behemoth battled later-than-usual farmer purchases and competition for generic pesticides in Brazil. Corteva expects demand for grains and crop-based biofuels to help boost profit growth, as well as improvement within the crop protection industry.

“The company sees demand on the farm as steady and still strong,” said Wells Fargo & Co. analyst Richard Garchitorena, who has an “overweight” rating on the shares.

Corteva said it expects 2024 earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion, in line with estimates and marking a 6% increase at the mid-point over the prior year if realized. That gives the company a path to reaching a goal of 16% Ebitda growth in 2025, Garchitorena said in a note.

Shares rose 17% to $53.14 as of 11:37 a.m. New York time, gaining the most in the company’s almost five-year history.

Indianapolis-based Corteva became a standalone company in June 2019 after being spun off from chemical company DowDuPont Inc.

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