Cohen Milstein, as co-lead counsel, represents investors in a securities fraud class action against FMC, a global manufacturer of pesticides and other crop protection products, and certain directors and officers.
Investors claim that in the wake of a staggering 29% post-COVID-19 pandemic decrease in sales, FMC unveiled a strategic restructuring plan called “Project Focus” to supposedly right-size its cost base and “normalize” distributor inventory levels. However, this strategic plan amounted to nothing more than an illegal channel stuffing initiative across the globe.
Investors also claim that FMC made a series of false and misleading statements during the class period, touting the “excellent progress” of Project Focus and that its channel inventories were “rebalancing” and “normalizing” at a faster pace than expected, among other things.
This is a class action on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired FMC common stock between November 16, 2023 and October 29, 2025 (the “Class Period” (inclusive)). Investors bring this action seeking to recover damages caused by FMC in violation of the federal securities laws under §§ 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder.
Case Background
Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions eased as pandemic restrictions were lifted. Channel distributors of crop protection products were left holding extremely high inventories of unused product. This excess channel inventory resulted in a revenue slowdown for FMC. FMC’s revenues were also negatively impacted by mounting generic competition for its top-selling crop protection products. These headwinds came to a head for FMC on October 23, 2023, when the company reported a staggering 29% year-over-year decrease in third quarter 2023 revenues due to “channel destocking in all regions.”
In the wake of these disastrous results, FMC unveiled a strategic restructuring plan called Project Focus to supposedly maximize operational efficiencies, right-size its cost base, and “normalize” distributor inventory levels. Starting on November 16, 2023, the day that the company unveiled Project Focus during FMC’s 2023 Investor Day, the defendants, including FMC’s former CEO Mark A. Douglas, current CEO Pierre R. Brondeau, current CFO Andrew D. Sandifer, and former President Ronaldo Pereira, touted the “excellent progress” of Project Focus and represented to investors that FMC was “reducing channel inventory every quarter” and that its channel inventories were “rebalancing” and “normalizing” at a faster pace than expected. The company also told investors that Project Focus would result in massive cost savings that would contribute to the company’s future profits.
However, the Complaint alleges that, unbeknownst to investors, FMC’s Project Focus did not meaningfully improve distributor inventory levels or create organic demand for FMC’s products. In reality, at the direction of the individual defendants, regional leaders throughout FMC’s global channel set remarkably unrealistic and unattainable sales targets and revenue projections and pumped unwanted and unsellable product into the company’s distribution channel: textbook “channel stuffing,” i.e., shipping more goods to distributors and retailers than end-users are likely to buy. The Complaint further alleges that FMC reported revenues for sales of products without shipment, delivery, or receipt of the product by a distributor or customer, and offered excessive rebates and unconditional returns to induce distributors and customers to purchase unwanted product. Further, FMC even sold product to distributors FMC knew were on the brink of bankruptcy and that had already defaulted on payments to FMC. These alleged practices were especially widespread in the Company’s first and third-largest markets of Brazil and India, respectively.
Through these undisclosed sales practices, FMC propped up its short-term revenue and sales numbers at the expense of long-term revenue and growth.
The truth of the company’s misrepresentations was gradually revealed over a series of disclosures throughout 2025.
Starting on February 4, 2025, FMC reported that fourth quarter 2024 revenue missed consensus revenue estimates by $90 million while disclosing that “growth was below [the company’s] expectations as [it] learned during the quarter that customers in many countries sought to hold significantly less inventory than they have historically.” The company also issued a disappointing 2025 financial outlook due to “weaker demand in the channel as customers in many countries prioritize holding lower-than-historical levels of inventory.” FMC’s stock price dropped $18.12 per share, or 33.5%, to close at $35.92 per share on February 5, 2025, with FMC losing over $2 billion in market capitalization in a single day.
The truth was fully revealed on October 29, 2025, when FMC reported its Q3 2025 financial results. Shockingly, FMC reported revenue of $542 million, a 49% decrease compared to Q3 2024, which Defendants stated was primarily related to “significant one-time commercial actions taken in India to position the business for sale.” Despite earlier allusions that an impairment was merely “possible,” Defendants ultimately revealed that the carrying value of its India business was cut in half, along with a jarring $510 million in charges and write-downs. Of the $510 million in write-downs, $282 million reflected a one-time adjustment related to “product returns and pricing changes designed to accelerate receivables collection and optimize the working capital mix of receivables and inventory”—squarely attributable to Defendants’ Class Period sales practices. On the same day, FMC also revealed that FMC’s President, Defendant Ronaldo Pereira, who reported directly to the CEO and had previously been discussed as Defendant Brondeau’s successor in the CEO role, was let go. As a result, the price of FMC stock collapsed to its lowest price since 2009, falling from $29.04 per share when the market closed on October 29, 2025, to $15.53 per share on October 30, 2025, a 46.52% decline on unusually high trading volume of 45 million shares.