Monsanto Delivers

I previewed Monsanto's (MON) earnings Monday saying "I would be shocked to see anything but a meet or a beat" and today they reported and delivered.

From the release:
"Key drivers for the quarter were increased corn seed and traits revenues in the United States, as well as higher sales of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides in the North America and Europe-Africa regions."

Good News For Corn Prices:
"Currently, reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) note that the majority of corn, cotton and soybean varieties are facing good crop growing conditions with the vast majority of these crops already having emerged. Monsanto continues to see strong customer demand for its branded corn seed products in the U.S. corn seed market. The company is also seeing strong customer demand for its branded corn seed products in key countries in Europe particularly in Italy, France and Germany." This should help ethanol producers like ADM (ADM), Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) and Verasun (VSE)whose shares have been held back by the specter of high corn prices and worries about the crop conditions.

During the quarter Monsanto saw increased U.S. corn seed and traits revenue as strong customer demand for its branded corn seed products contributed to a sixth consecutive year of market share gains in the U.S. corn seed market. The increase could be as large as 4 or 5 percentage points, which would be the largest historical one-year gain for Monsanto in the corn seed market.

It seems the only thing that could dampen momentum at Monsanto would be an ethanol breakthrough that diminished to thirst for corn.

More on that tomorrow.....