CF vs UAN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CF and UAN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CF and UAN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

CF Industries Holdings makes nitrogen products, primarily anhydrous ammonia, granular urea, and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) solution, along with ammonium nitrate and diesel exhaust fluid. It is the world's largest producer of ammonia and North America's largest pure-play nitrogen manufacturer, running a fleet of gas-fed plants across the US, Canada, and the UK. Natural gas is its main feedstock, so its cost position is structurally advantaged when North American gas is cheap relative to European and Asian producers.

Full CF guide

CVR Partners, LP is a producer of nitrogen fertilizer, mainly ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) solution, operating two plants: a petroleum coke gasification facility in Coffeyville, Kansas, and a natural-gas-based plant in East Dubuque, Illinois. It is structured as a master limited partnership, so investors buy common units and receive a Schedule K-1 for tax purposes rather than the 1099 a normal corporation issues. The partnership is affiliated with CVR Energy, and the Coffeyville plant sources petroleum coke from a nearby CVR refinery, which gives it a feedstock mix different from the natural-gas-driven cost base of most nitrogen producers. Because it sells a commodity into global agricultural markets, UAN is largely a price-taker: its results swing with ammonia and UAN prices, plant utilization, and input costs.

Full UAN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CF drivers: Tight global nitrogen supply and pricing; Low-cost North American natural gas feedstock.
• UAN drivers: Nitrogen fertilizer prices drive everything; Petroleum coke feedstock advantage.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: CF's earnings are highly cyclical and tied to volatile nitrogen prices, which can fall sharply when global supply loosens or demand softens. For UAN, the dominant risk is commodity cyclicality: because revenue is tied to ammonia and UAN prices, a drop in fertilizer prices or grain demand can compress earnings and the distribution quickly, and the payout is explicitly variable rather than fixed.

Pick CF if you believe its drivers more; UAN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CF and UAN guides.

CF. CF posted a strong Q1 2026, with net sales up about 19% to roughly $1.99 billion and net earnings near $615 million on tight global nitrogen supply and higher selling prices across all segments. The quarter included one-off items such as a litigation settlement gain and insurance recoveries. The stock trades at a low double-digit forward earnings multiple typical of a cyclical commodity producer, reflecting the market's expectation that peak-cycle earnings are not permanent.

UAN. Figures are approximate, tied to the asOf date, and should be verified against the latest filings and quote before acting. UAN is a variable-distribution MLP, so quarterly distributions vary with cash flow and are not a reliable forward yield: a large payout in a strong quarter can fall sharply when fertilizer prices weaken or during turnaround periods. Standard earnings multiples are less meaningful for a small cyclical MLP than where nitrogen prices sit in the cycle and how much cash is available to distribute.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): CF shows revenue (ttm) ~$6.4B, q1 2026 net sales ~$1.99B, q1 2026 net earnings ~$615M, q1 2026 adjusted ebitda ~$983M; UAN shows net sales (q1 2026) ~$180 million, up from ~$143 million a year earlier on higher realized prices (approximate; verify live), net income (q1 2026) ~$50 million, or roughly $4.72 per common unit (approximate), ebitda (q1 2026) ~$78 million, up from ~$53 million a year earlier (approximate), latest quarterly distribution $4.00 per common unit declared for Q1 2026 (~$42 million); as a variable-distribution MLP this amount changes every quarter with available cash.

CF and UAN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CF and UAN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.