Materials Sector Performance: Miners, Fertilizers, and Chemicals in 2025

Materials Sector Performance in 2025

• 📊 The materials sector ranks in the middle of the pack for the first 7 months of 2025, with an approximate 8% increase.
• ⛏️ Miners are leading the sector's performance, with companies like Newmont and Freeport-McMoRan showing strong gains.

Top Performing Companies

• 🥇 Newmont shares are up over 60% due to the rise in gold prices.
• 🥈 Mosaic, specializing in phosphate and potash for fertilizers, ranks second, with shares up about 28% in the last 3 months.
• 🥉 Cortiva is the third best spot, up approximately 28% in 2025.
• 🏗️ Newore, a steel company, has also performed well, with shares up 21% year-to-date.

Underperforming Companies

• 📉 At the bottom of the materials sector are three large chemical companies: Eastman Chemical, Dow, and Clariant.
• 📦 Paper and packaging companies such as Smurfit, Westrock, and Albemarle are also on the short side of the sector.

Key Sector Influences

• ⚠️ Two major issues impacting the sector this year have been the dollar value and tariffs.
• 📈 Since tariffs became a market focus in the last 3 months, every stock in the sector has seen an increase.
• 🌍 The falling dollar has offset tariff concerns by making American exports more affordable globally.

Export-Oriented Companies

• ✈️ Newmont is a significant beneficiary of the falling dollar, as nearly all its revenue comes from outside the US.
• 🌐 DuPont, which supplies materials for the global semiconductor industry, derives 67% of its revenue from outside the US and has seen its stock rise 14% in the last 3 months.
• 🇧🇷 Mosaic generates about 65% of its revenue from overseas, with Brazil being a primary destination for its products.