ICL Group Ltd (ICL): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at a company that sits right at the intersection of global food security and industrial necessity, and honestly, the numbers for ICL Group Ltd (ICL) in 2025 tell a compelling story. With trailing 12-month revenue hitting $7.05 Billion USD and specialty EBITDA guidance pointing toward $0.95B to $1.15B for the year, this isn't just about digging stuff out of the ground; it's a calculated pivot toward high-margin specialties. They use unique assets, like the Dead Sea minerals, to feed roughly 400 million people daily while managing near-term costs like that $70M-$90M one-off water fee charge. So, how does this unique resource base translate into a resilient business model across crop nutrition, food, and industrial segments? Dive into the full Business Model Canvas below to see the exact partnerships, activities, and revenue streams driving this strategy.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at the core relationships ICL Group Ltd (ICL) locks in to secure volume and drive new growth vectors. These aren't just handshake deals; they are multi-year commitments that underpin significant revenue streams and market access, especially in Asia.

The long-term supply agreements for potash with Chinese customers are foundational. These are structured under a multi-year framework, which is key for volume stability. For the period spanning 2025-2027, the framework agreements provide for the supply of an aggregate amount of 2,500,000 metric tons of potash. Furthermore, there are mutual options for an additional 960,000 metric tons in aggregate over that three-year term. Focusing just on the 2025 portion, ICL signed agreements to supply 750,000 metric tons of potash to China, with an option for an extra 340,000 metric tons, priced at \$346 per ton CIFFO. Still, Q1 2025 results showed ICL was fulfilling its 2024 contracts with China at prices lower than the prevailing market rates at that time.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) is also making strategic moves into next-generation agricultural inputs through partnerships. A prime example is the long-term strategic partnership with BioPrime AgriSolutions to scale soil and crop health solutions across India.

• The collaboration leverages BioPrime's proprietary BioNexus platform.
• This platform houses over 18,000 unique microbial strains.
• The initial focus targets improving Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) for Phosphorus (P) and Zinc (Zn).
• Strains have shown potential to improve PUE by 2-3X.
• Other strains may solubilize 65-70% of Zinc.
• Industry projections suggest this tie-up could multiply growth in the biofertilizers segment by 10-20X in the coming years.
• India's biofertilizer market is valued at around USD 145 million with an 11.5% CAGR.

The Joint Venture (JV) in China for phosphate operations is another critical piece of the structure. ICL's subsidiary, YPH, is equally owned by ICL and Yunnan Phosphate Chemicals Group Corporation Ltd. ("YYTH"), though ICL controls the entity. YPH operates the Haikou Phosphate Mine and processing site in the Xishan district. While the most recent operational data is from 2022, it shows the scale of the partnership's assets:

This JV became one of the most important phosphate suppliers to the fast-growing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market in Yunnan, China, in 2022. That's a clear pivot into the engineered materials space using their core mineral assets.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core engine of ICL Group Ltd's value creation, which is deeply rooted in its unique mineral assets. The company's key activities revolve around extracting value from its natural resources and transforming them into high-value specialty products, especially as it pivots away from less profitable ventures.

Mining and processing of potash, phosphate, and bromine from unique global sites

The foundation of ICL Group Ltd's operations is the mining and processing of its three core minerals: potash, phosphate, and bromine. This integrated value chain is a key differentiator. For instance, looking at the third quarter of 2025, the Potash segment saw its price (CIF) reach $353 per ton, which is up 6% sequentially and a solid 19% year-over-year. That pricing strength helped lift the segment's sales, even as volumes remained relatively stable year-over-year at 1,046 thousand metric tons in Q3 2025.

The company is actively managing its production to meet market needs, maintaining its full-year 2025 sales volume guidance for Potash between 4.5 million metric tons and 4.7 million metric tons. The activity also includes processing bromine, where Q3 2025 saw elemental bromine sales decrease due to lower volumes, but higher prices helped maintain profitability. This entire mineral extraction and initial processing activity supports the downstream segments.

Here's a snapshot of the segment performance driving the overall company revenue of $7.05 Billion USD for the trailing twelve months (TTM) as of late 2025:

Manufacturing high-margin specialty products like controlled release fertilizers

ICL Group Ltd is clearly executing a strategic shift to focus on profitable growth engines within its specialty businesses. The company forecasts its specialties-driven EBITDA for the full year 2025 to be between $0.95 billion and $1.15 billion. This focus is evident in the performance of the specialty-led segments, which led sales growth in Q3 2025.

The manufacturing activity centers on advanced crop nutrition and food ingredients. You see this in their long-standing pioneering work with Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRFs), which are designed to optimize nutrient delivery and reduce losses. The company's R&D also supports this by focusing on next-generation fertilizers, including biostimulants and biodegradable coatings for CRFs.

Key specialty manufacturing and solution areas include:

• Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRFs) like E-Max, Agromaster, and Osmocote.
• Specialty agriculture products, which saw higher selling prices in Q3 2025.
• Food specialties, though Q3 2025 saw lower selling prices for these products.
• Innovative solutions like Puraloop, which uses phosphorus from waste streams like sewage sludge ash (SSA) to create a dust-free fertilizer.

Strategic M&A to expand specialty portfolio (e.g., GreenBest, Lavie Bio acquisitions in 2025)

To accelerate its pivot toward specialty solutions, ICL Group Ltd has been active in strategic Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in 2025. This is about buying capabilities and pipelines, not just volume. The company completed two acquisitions in 2025 so far, following two in 2024.

The most significant recent move was the acquisition of the majority of subsidiary Lavie Bio's activity from Evogene in April 2025. The total consideration for this was $18.75 million, broken down as $15.25 million for the Lavie Bio assets and an additional $3.5 million for the MicroBoost AI tech-engine. This deal brought ICL Group Ltd the Biology Driven Design technology platform, a microbial product pipeline, and the core team.

The other 2025 acquisition was GreenBest in January 2025, though the financial terms were undisclosed. These moves are explicitly aimed at strengthening the Growing Solutions segment and accessing new biologicals technology.

R&D focused on sustainable food ingredients and specialty crop nutrition

ICL Group Ltd's Research, Development, and Innovation (RD&I) activities are directly tied to its growth strategy, aiming to enable new product sales (NPS) and new business creation. The company has explicitly identified specialty crop nutrition and specialty food as its two main growth engines following a comprehensive business review in late 2025. Furthermore, ICL opened its own research center for biologicals in Israel in 2025 to bolster this focus.

The R&D focus areas for sustainable solutions are concrete:

• Specialty Crop Nutrition: Developing biostimulants, nutrient sensing technologies, and growth enhancers.
• Sustainable Food Ingredients: Focus on texture improvement, stabilization, salt reduction, shelf-life extension, and meatless/alternative proteins.
• Investment in Food Tech: ICL Food Specialties anticipates increasing demand for its Rovitaris Binding Solution in 2025, driven by clean-label trends. The company also has a follow-on investment in Plantible Foods, which develops plant-based protein using lemna.

The company aligns its RD&I compass with Advancing Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture, aiming to increase yields above current market thresholds and reduce food waste. This commitment is supported by a global professional workforce, with the company employing more than 12,000 people worldwide.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that power ICL Group Ltd's operations, the stuff that can't easily be replicated. These are the foundational elements that underpin their entire specialty minerals strategy.

The most critical resource is the exclusive access to the Dead Sea mineral reserves. This concession, which yields high-value Potash and Bromine, is set to expire in 2030. To manage the uncertainty around this, ICL Group Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Israel on November 5, 2025. This deal sets a baseline: if the company does not secure the future concession in the tender process, the government will pay $2.54 billion for the transfer of required assets, with potential total compensation cited around $3 billion.

This resource base is supported by a substantial global footprint. ICL Group Ltd operates with a workforce of over 12,000 employees globally. This human capital, combined with decades of know-how, drives the integrated value chain. That chain starts with raw material extraction and moves all the way through to developing complex, value-added specialty end-products.

The financial expectation tied to this specialty focus is clear for the current year. ICL Group Ltd maintains its specialty-driven EBITDA guidance for 2025 to be between $0.95B and $1.15B. This figure specifically covers the Industrial Products, Growing Solutions, and Phosphate Solutions divisions, showing where management sees the highest value creation coming from.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the resource base and the latest employee data we have:

The physical assets themselves are geographically diverse, which helps manage risk and supports the logistics footprint. The company leverages unique mineral assets across several key regions:

• Dead Sea, Israel: Primary source for Potash, Bromine, and Magnesium.
• Negev Desert, Israel: Phosphate surface mining operations.
• Spain: Operates two deep potash mines.
• United Kingdom: Mines Polysulphate™ at the Boulby mine.
• China: Phosphate open-pit mining via a joint venture.

Furthermore, ICL Group Ltd holds significant market positions derived from these resources. They produce approximately a third of the world's bromine and are recognized as the world's sixth-largest potash producer. This market leverage is a direct result of controlling the upstream supply, which is a key advantage in their integrated model.

The integrated value chain is more than just a process flow; it's about internal synergies. ICL Group Ltd uses its extracted minerals-potash, bromine, and phosphate-as the main raw materials across its four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Growing Solutions. This internal flow allows for material use efficiency and the creation of highly specialized downstream products, such as flame retardants and specialty fertilizers. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at the core value ICL Group Ltd (ICL) delivers to its customers and the world, grounded in its unique mineral resources. It's about more than just selling chemicals; it's about essential contributions to global stability.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) provides essential minerals for global food security, with its products directly contributing to feeding approximately 400 million people daily. This impact is a cornerstone of their value proposition. Also, the company is a leader in providing solutions that help farmers grow more with less impact.

The company's focus on specialty crop nutrition products is designed for improved yield and agricultural sustainability. For instance, farmers using their controlled-release fertilizers report yield increases of up to 20%. This specialty focus is reflected in their financial performance, with the Growing Solutions segment posting sales of $561 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Another key area is high-quality specialty phosphates, which offer critical food texture and stability solutions. The Phosphate Solutions segment showed strong performance, with sales reaching $605 million in the third quarter of 2025, driven by higher volumes in specialty products. This segment also includes industrial phosphates, which saw sales up slightly in Q3 2025 due to higher volumes in North America.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) maintains global leadership in bromine-based flame retardants and clear brine fluids. As the largest global brominated flame retardants (BFR) producer, ICL provides materials crucial for fire safety across electronics, automotive, and construction sectors. Bromine is also vital for clear brine fluids used to balance pressure during oil and gas drilling operations.

Here's a quick look at the financial scale of these value-driving segments as of the third quarter of 2025:

The value ICL Group Ltd (ICL) creates extends through several critical applications, which you can see summarized below:

• Essential minerals support feeding approximately 400 million people daily.
• Controlled-release fertilizer use can lead to yield increases of up to 20%.
• Phosphate Solutions sales in 3Q 2025 were $605 million, up from $577 million year-over-year.
• ICL Group Ltd (ICL) is the largest global producer of brominated flame retardants.
• Bromine in clear brines is essential for balancing pressure in oil and gas drilling.

To be fair, the company's overall consolidated sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, reached $1.9 billion, showing solid year-over-year growth led by its specialties businesses. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

ICL Group Ltd maintains deep, embedded relationships with key global customers, particularly in the food and agriculture sectors, which underpins significant, recurring revenue streams.

The company employs dedicated account management for 7 of the top 10 global food companies, ensuring close alignment on specialty mineral and ingredient needs.

For major agricultural customers, ICL Group Ltd secures its high-volume business through multi-year supply agreements, providing volume and price certainty for both ICL Group Ltd and the customer base in these critical markets.

Here are the specific committed volumes and pricing details for the 2025 potash supply agreements in China and India:

The Q1 2025 Potash sales volumes reached 1,103 thousand metric tons, with higher volumes specifically noted for China. The company's specialties-driven businesses, which rely on these deep customer ties, have an expected EBITDA guidance for the full year 2025 between $0.95 billion to $1.15 billion.

For industrial specialty applications, ICL Group Ltd focuses on co-development and long-term supply partnerships. For instance, a five-year agreement signed with AMP Holdings Group Co. Ltd. in China, running until 2028, is valued at approximately $170 million for specialty water soluble fertilizers. Also, a Joint Venture for Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathode Active Material Production was signed on January 16, 2025.

Customer relationship highlights include:

• Dedicated account management for 7 of the top 10 global food companies.
• Potash supply to China for 2025 confirmed at 750,000 metric tons.
• Potash supply to India for 2025 confirmed at 400,000 metric tons.
• Specialty fertilizer agreement in China valued at approximately $170 million.
• Q3 2025 consolidated sales reached $1.9 billion.

Finance: review the cash flow impact of the Q3 2025 $2,205 million net financial liabilities position by end of next week.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

ICL Group Ltd moves its products across the globe using a multi-faceted channel strategy, reflecting its status as a multi-national manufacturing concern. The company leverages its global professional workforce to support this reach. As of the latest available data, ICL Group Ltd operates 64 local logistics and sales offices in more than 30 countries and maintains 38 production sites in 13 countries worldwide. Given that 90% of ICL's sales are exports, the direct B2B sales channel, supported by this regional presence, is critical for moving high-value specialty products.

The company's sales approach centers on direct engagement alongside its distribution partners. For instance, ICL Group Ltd reported consolidated sales of $1.9 billion for the third quarter of 2025. The geographic distribution of sales shows a strong reliance on key markets, with maximum revenue historically generated from Brazil and the USA.

Here is a snapshot of ICL Group Ltd's scale and key market focus points:

The extensive distribution network is particularly vital for the specialty crop nutrition segment, which ICL Group Ltd has identified as a primary growth engine. This network is built through strategic partnerships, such as the five-year agreement signed in 2024 with AMP Holdings Group Co. Ltd. in China, valued at approximately $170 million through 2028, to supply specialty water-soluble fertilizers. This focus on local empowerment through regional distribution helps capture growth in specialty markets, like China, which is the world's largest market for fertigation.

Direct shipping is an inherent part of ICL Group Ltd's logistics, given that 90% of its sales are exports. The company extracts minerals like potash and bromine from key locations, including major mining operations by Israel's Dead Sea, which is a primary source of raw materials. This high export volume necessitates direct, efficient movement of product from production sites to global customers.

ICL Group Ltd maintains a unique operational channel in China through its joint venture, YPH JV, which engages in phosphate open-pit mining in Yunnan. This structure positions ICL as a key player in the region, as the JV is equally owned by ICL and Yunnan Phosphate Chemicals Group Corporation Ltd. ("YYTH"), and is controlled by ICL. This operation is crucial for ICL's strategy to strengthen its Food Phosphate offerings by capturing White Phosphoric Acid (WPA) and Phosphate Salts growth opportunities in China. The YPH JV became one of the most important phosphate suppliers to the fast-growing Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery industry in Yunnan in 2022.

Key channel activities related to specific product movements include:

• Securing a 2025 potash supply deal to China for 750,000 metric tons, with an option for an additional 340,000 metric tons.
• The price point for this 2025 China potash supply was set at $346 per ton.
• Specialty Phosphate sales are a focus, with the company aiming to increase production of food-grade White Phosphoric Acid (WPA) to serve local Chinese markets.
• The company's global reach includes serving customers in key regions like Brazil, the USA, and China.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core customer base for ICL Group Ltd as of late 2025, which is heavily weighted toward business-to-business (B2B) clients across agriculture, food, and industrial sectors. The company's overall financial health, as of September 30, 2025, shows a trailing 12-month revenue of $7.05 Billion USD, with Q3 2025 consolidated sales hitting $1.9 billion. The strategy clearly centers on specialties, which, combined with Industrial Products and Growing Solutions, drove sales growth in the first nine months of 2025.

Here's a breakdown of the key customer groups ICL serves:

• Large-scale global fertilizer buyers, particularly in Asia and South America.
• Multinational Food & Beverage manufacturers seeking texture and stability solutions.
• Industrial companies needing bromine and phosphate derivatives for specialized applications.
• Professional horticulture and turf markets, focusing on specialty crop nutrition.

The agricultural segment remains a massive driver, though ICL is clearly pivoting toward higher-margin specialty products within it. For instance, the Potash segment saw sales increase in Q3 2025 due to improved pricing for contracted and spot transactions.

Large-scale Global Fertilizer Buyers (China, India, Brazil)

This group represents significant volume commitments, especially for potash. ICL Group Ltd has tailored supply strategies for these key regions. You see this commitment in the specific 2025 potash supply agreements:

Brazil was ICL's largest market in 2024, accounting for 18% of total sales, which translated to $1.2 billion. In Q1 2025, potash sales volumes saw higher shipments to both Brazil and China year-over-year. The company explicitly targets high-growth markets like Latin America, India and China for its Growing Solutions portfolio. In Q3 2025, potash sales volumes were 1,046 thousand metric tons, with the price at $353 per ton (CIF), marking a 19% year-over-year increase.

Multinational Food & Beverage Manufacturers Needing Specialty Ingredients

ICL has identified specialty food solutions, which falls under its Phosphate Solutions segment, as one of its two main growth engines for sustainable and profitable growth. ICL Phosphate Solutions is a global leader, holding a 24% specialty phosphates market share in key target markets.

The performance in this area shows clear regional strength:

• Q3 2025 Phosphate Solutions sales reached $605 million.
• Phosphate Specialties sales in Q3 2025 were $348 million.
• Food phosphates sales increased in Q3 2025 due to improved volumes, particularly in North America and Asia Pacific.

Industrial Companies Needing Bromine and Phosphates

The Industrial Products segment serves customers in sectors like electronics and construction, though demand here has been mixed. ICL Industrial Products sales in Q1 2025 were $344 million, up from $335 million the prior year.

Key sub-segments for industrial customers include:

• Elemental Bromine: Higher volumes drove sales in Q1 2025, offsetting lower market prices. ICL Industrial Products segment is the number one global producer of elemental bromine and its compounds.
• Phosphorous-based Solutions: Sales increased in Q1 2025 with higher volumes mainly in Europe and the U.S..
• Market Condition: Both the electronics and construction end-markets were noted as remaining somewhat soft in Q1 2025.

The Phosphate Solutions segment also serves industrial needs; in Q3 2025, Phosphate Commodities sales were $257 million.

Professional Turf, Ornamental, and Horticulture Markets

This market falls under the Growing Solutions segment, which ICL has designated as a primary growth engine. The company aims for global leadership in this area by enhancing its positions in specialty agriculture, ornamental horticulture, and turf and landscaping.

Here are the recent top-line numbers for this customer group:

• Growing Solutions sales in Q1 2025 were $495 million versus $479 million in Q1 2024.
• In Q3 2025, sales for the combined Industrial Products, Phosphate Solutions and Growing Solutions segments were up year-over-year.

ICL also secured a five-year distribution agreement in China for specialty water-soluble fertilizers, valued at approximately $170 million and running until 2028.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the financial reality of running a global specialty minerals operation, where the cost base is heavily weighted toward physical assets and regulatory compliance. The structure is capital-intensive, meaning high upfront and ongoing fixed costs are a given.

High fixed costs from mining and production facilities globally are the bedrock of ICL Group Ltd's expense profile. These costs cover depreciation, maintenance, and fixed overheads for their worldwide extraction and processing sites. For the fiscal quarter ending in September of 2025, ICL Group reported $\mathbf{\$1.62\text{B}}$ in Operating Expenses. To give you a sense of the prior year's scale, the Total Operating Expenses for the full year 2024 were $\mathbf{\$1.48\text{B}}$.

The cost structure is also being impacted by regulatory shifts, which can introduce significant, non-recurring charges. Specifically, the Israeli Supreme Court ruling regarding water fees has created a major expense. ICL Group estimates it will be required to pay a one-off charge between $\mathbf{\$70\text{M}}$ and $\mathbf{\$90\text{M}}$ for water fees covering the period from January 1, 2018, through September 2025, which management stated will be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025 results. Also, this introduces a higher structural cost base with an expected additional ongoing annual cost of about $\mathbf{\$10\text{M}}$ to $\mathbf{\$12\text{M}}$ in water fees starting from October 2025 until the current concession expires.

ICL Group Ltd continues to invest heavily in its future growth engines, which translates directly into significant Research & Development (R&D) and Capital Expenditure (CapEx). This spending is focused on specialty solutions, moving away from pure commodity reliance. Here's a look at some of the reported figures:

• Research and development expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, were $\mathbf{\$18\text{M}}$.
• Capital expenditures for the three months ended March 31, 2025, totaled $\mathbf{\$147\text{M}}$.
• A concrete example of specialty growth CapEx is the announced initial investment of approximately $\mathbf{€285\text{M}}$ for a lithium iron phosphate cathode active material production facility in Europe.

The globally integrated supply chain necessitates substantial spending on logistics and energy. Moving bulk minerals and specialized products across continents is a major variable cost component. While overall energy costs fluctuate, ICL Group is actively managing fuel expenses through efficiency measures. For instance, in a trial involving its UK fleet, the company achieved over a $\mathbf{7\%}$ reduction in emissions and fuel costs by implementing hydrogen-powered engine cleantech on one-third of its $\mathbf{90}$-vehicle fleet based at West Thurrock.

You can see the breakdown of key cost components from a recent quarterly filing:

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

ICL Group Ltd (ICL) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the top-line performance for ICL Group Ltd as of late 2025, and the numbers show a company firmly rooted in its core mineral extraction and specialty chemical businesses. The overall revenue picture is solid, reflecting continued demand across its end markets.

Here's a quick look at the scale of the revenue generation based on the latest available figures:

The revenue streams are fundamentally built on the extraction and sale of key minerals, with Potash being a major component. For the full year 2025, the expected sales volume for Potash is set in the range of 4.3M to 4.5M metric tons. To give you a sense of recent activity, the sales volume for Potash in the third quarter of 2025 was 1,046 thousand metric tons, with the average Potash price at $353 per ton (CIF) for that period, which was up 19% year-over-year.

Also, the company is clearly pushing its specialty offerings, which are designed to be more resilient and profitable. Sales from these specialty-driven segments-Phosphate, Industrial Products, and Growing Solutions-led the revenue charge in the third quarter and the first nine months of the year. You can see the breakdown for some of these key specialty areas from the Q3 2025 results:

• Growing Solutions Sales (Q3 2025): $561 million
• Industrial Products Sales (Q3 2025): $295 million
• Phosphate Solutions Sales (Q3 2025): Data not explicitly isolated in the latest reports, but part of the specialty growth engine.

Finally, ICL Group Ltd maintains a policy of returning capital to shareholders, which forms a smaller, but important, part of the financial picture for investors. The latest declared cash dividend to shareholders in December 2025 was about $62 million total, translating to a per-share payout of $0.048. That payout ratio, based on the latest earnings, is sitting around 18%, signaling stability rather than aggressive distribution, so you know where they stand on cash allocation.