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Side-by-side financial comparison of CF Industries (CF) and MARKEL GROUP INC. (MKL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MARKEL GROUP INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($3.6B vs $1.9B, roughly 1.9× CF Industries). CF Industries runs the higher net margin — 26.4% vs 16.1%, a 10.3% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CF Industries posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (22.8% vs -6.9%). MARKEL GROUP INC. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($599.1M vs $313.0M). Over the past eight quarters, CF Industries's revenue compounded faster (12.8% CAGR vs -10.5%).

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1946 as the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company. For its first 56 years, it was a federation of regional agricultural supply cooperatives. CF then demutualized, and became a publicly traded company.

Markel Group Inc. is a group of companies headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and originally founded in 1930 as an insurance company.

CF vs MKL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MKL
MKL
1.9× larger
MKL
$3.6B
$1.9B
CF
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CF
CF
+29.7% gap
CF
22.8%
-6.9%
MKL
Higher net margin
CF
CF
10.3% more per $
CF
26.4%
16.1%
MKL
More free cash flow
MKL
MKL
$286.1M more FCF
MKL
$599.1M
$313.0M
CF
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CF
CF
Annualised
CF
12.8%
-10.5%
MKL

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Revenue
$1.9B
$3.6B
Net Profit
$495.0M
$576.8M
Gross Margin
40.9%
Operating Margin
33.0%
22.2%
Net Margin
26.4%
16.1%
Revenue YoY
22.8%
-6.9%
Net Profit YoY
26.3%
5.0%
EPS (diluted)
$2.56
$48.22

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$1.9B
$3.6B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$3.9B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$4.6B
Q1 25
$1.7B
$3.4B
Q4 24
$1.5B
$3.8B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$4.6B
Q2 24
$1.6B
$3.7B
Q1 24
$1.5B
$4.5B
Net Profit
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$495.0M
$576.8M
Q3 25
$460.0M
$751.3M
Q2 25
$492.0M
$657.1M
Q1 25
$351.0M
$121.7M
Q4 24
$392.0M
$549.2M
Q3 24
$341.0M
$905.0M
Q2 24
$506.0M
$267.7M
Q1 24
$238.0M
$1.0B
Gross Margin
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
40.9%
Q3 25
38.1%
Q2 25
39.9%
Q1 25
34.4%
Q4 24
34.4%
Q3 24
32.4%
Q2 24
43.2%
Q1 24
27.8%
Operating Margin
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
33.0%
22.2%
Q3 25
35.0%
25.7%
Q2 25
34.3%
24.1%
Q1 25
27.4%
8.3%
Q4 24
28.9%
15.5%
Q3 24
26.6%
29.7%
Q2 24
40.6%
11.1%
Q1 24
20.6%
29.9%
Net Margin
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
26.4%
16.1%
Q3 25
27.7%
19.1%
Q2 25
26.0%
14.3%
Q1 25
21.1%
3.6%
Q4 24
25.7%
14.3%
Q3 24
24.9%
19.6%
Q2 24
32.2%
7.2%
Q1 24
16.2%
23.0%
EPS (diluted)
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$2.56
$48.22
Q3 25
$2.19
$59.25
Q2 25
$2.37
$49.67
Q1 25
$1.85
$12.08
Q4 24
$1.86
$39.02
Q3 24
$1.55
$66.25
Q2 24
$2.30
$18.62
Q1 24
$1.03
$75.43

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$4.0B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$3.2B
$4.3B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.8B
$18.6B
Total Assets
$14.1B
$68.9B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.66×
0.23×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$4.0B
Q3 25
$4.0B
Q2 25
$3.7B
Q1 25
$4.2B
Q4 24
$3.7B
Q3 24
$3.9B
Q2 24
$3.5B
Q1 24
$3.6B
Total Debt
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$3.2B
$4.3B
Q3 25
$3.0B
$4.3B
Q2 25
$3.0B
$4.4B
Q1 25
$3.0B
$4.4B
Q4 24
$3.0B
$4.3B
Q3 24
$3.0B
$4.4B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$4.4B
Q1 24
$3.0B
$3.9B
Stockholders' Equity
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$4.8B
$18.6B
Q3 25
$4.8B
$18.0B
Q2 25
$5.0B
$17.3B
Q1 25
$4.8B
$17.1B
Q4 24
$5.0B
$16.9B
Q3 24
$5.2B
$17.0B
Q2 24
$5.5B
$15.9B
Q1 24
$5.4B
$15.7B
Total Assets
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$14.1B
$68.9B
Q3 25
$14.2B
$67.4B
Q2 25
$13.8B
$66.8B
Q1 25
$13.3B
$64.6B
Q4 24
$13.5B
$61.9B
Q3 24
$13.8B
$62.3B
Q2 24
$13.8B
$59.7B
Q1 24
$13.9B
$57.3B
Debt / Equity
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
0.66×
0.23×
Q3 25
0.61×
0.24×
Q2 25
0.60×
0.25×
Q1 25
0.62×
0.26×
Q4 24
0.60×
0.26×
Q3 24
0.57×
0.26×
Q2 24
0.54×
0.28×
Q1 24
0.55×
0.25×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$539.0M
$662.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$313.0M
$599.1M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.7%
16.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
12.1%
1.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.09×
1.15×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.8B
$2.6B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$539.0M
$662.2M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$1.2B
Q2 25
$563.0M
$504.4M
Q1 25
$586.0M
$376.2M
Q4 24
$420.0M
$493.9M
Q3 24
$931.0M
$890.8M
Q2 24
$475.0M
$578.6M
Q1 24
$445.0M
$630.7M
Free Cash Flow
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
$313.0M
$599.1M
Q3 25
$717.0M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$318.0M
$453.8M
Q1 25
$454.0M
$335.5M
Q4 24
$223.0M
$420.0M
Q3 24
$792.0M
$838.9M
Q2 24
$391.0M
$521.4M
Q1 24
$347.0M
$558.7M
FCF Margin
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
16.7%
16.7%
Q3 25
43.2%
29.6%
Q2 25
16.8%
9.9%
Q1 25
27.3%
9.9%
Q4 24
14.6%
10.9%
Q3 24
57.8%
18.2%
Q2 24
24.9%
14.1%
Q1 24
23.6%
12.5%
Capex Intensity
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
12.1%
1.8%
Q3 25
20.9%
1.3%
Q2 25
13.0%
1.1%
Q1 25
7.9%
1.2%
Q4 24
12.9%
1.9%
Q3 24
10.1%
1.1%
Q2 24
5.3%
1.5%
Q1 24
6.7%
1.6%
Cash Conversion
CF
CF
MKL
MKL
Q4 25
1.09×
1.15×
Q3 25
2.31×
1.62×
Q2 25
1.14×
0.77×
Q1 25
1.67×
3.09×
Q4 24
1.07×
0.90×
Q3 24
2.73×
0.98×
Q2 24
0.94×
2.16×
Q1 24
1.87×
0.62×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CF
CF

Ammonia$591.0M32%
UAN$493.0M26%
Urea$372.0M20%
Other$244.0M13%
Other Products$147.0M8%
Ammonium Nitrate Segment$25.0M1%

MKL
MKL

Industrial$1.6B45%
Consumer And Other$958.3M27%
Financial$737.0M21%
Other$198.8M6%
Corporate Operations$52.0M1%
Revenue From Contract With Customer$10.5M0%

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