Compass Minerals double downgraded at J.P. Morgan after posting larger than expected Q3 loss

[Salt mining]
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Compass Minerals (NYSE:CMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CMP]) +0.9% in Wednesday's trading after plunging 10% in the previous session following Q3 results [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4483478-compass-minerals-non-gaap-eps-of-0_39-misses-by-0_26-revenue-of-214_6m-beats-by-6m] that included a much larger than expected loss, prompting J.P. Morgan to double downgrade shares to Underweight from Overweight with an $18 price target.

Compass Minerals' (NYSE:CMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CMP]) capital costs have crept higher while profitability in its core salt business has been depressed by poor winter weather and the company's efforts to manage its inventory, which has resulted in higher fixed cost absorption, and costs remain elevated in the plant nutrition business due to production challenges and higher cost inputs, according to JPM analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas.

While Compass (CMP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CMP]) is well poised to increase its salt volumes and prices for FY 2026 and the shares are relatively less expensive compared to its historical trading multiple of ~9x EV/EBITDA, the company is more levered and its free cash flow generation is weaker, Zekauskas wrote.

MORE ON COMPASS MINERALS

* Compass Minerals International Q3 2025 Earnings Call Presentation [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4812619-compass-minerals-international-inc-2025-q3-results-earnings-call-presentation]
* Compass Minerals Doubled But Probably Still Trapped Under A Mountain Of Debt [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4801897-compass-minerals-doubled-but-probably-still-trapped-under-a-mountain-of-debt]
* Compass Minerals: A Money Sink Despite Stable Prices For Its Main Salt Product [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4775442-compass-a-money-sink-despite-stable-prices-for-its-main-salt-product]