CHS Inc (CHSCP) is an agricultural cooperative that operates across energy, grain handling and processing, and ag retail segments throughout the United States and internationally. It makes money by refining and wholesaling petroleum products, marketing and processing grain and oilseeds, and selling crop inputs through approximately 400 agri-operations retail locations. CHS owns two petroleum refineries in Laurel, Montana, and McPherson, Kansas, selling approximately 1.5 billion gallons of gasoline and 1.7 billion gallons of diesel fuel in fiscal 2025, with roughly 75% marketed to member cooperatives and independent retailers under the Cenex brand. On the agricultural side, CHS crushes approximately 147 million bushels of soybeans and canola annually, producing roughly 3.1 million short tons of meal and flour and 1.9 billion pounds of oil, and produces 267 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol annually. Its ag retail network spans the midwestern and western United States, purchasing grain from farmers and selling agronomy, energy, feed, and seed products.
- Revenue model
- Transactional revenue across three segments: wholesale and retail sales of refined petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, propane, lubricants, asphalt); grain and oilseed marketing, processing, and export; and ag retail sales of crop inputs including crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed, feed, and energy. Approximately 75% of refined fuel products are sold to members, with the balance to nonmembers (FY2025, 10-K filed 2025-11-05).
- Products and services
- Refined petroleum products (gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, asphalt, lubricants) sold under the Cenex brand; grain and oilseed marketing and origination; soybean and canola crushing producing meal, flour, and edible and inedible oil; fuel-grade ethanol (267 million gallons annually produced, over 300 million gallons marketed under third-party agreements); dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS, 645,000 tons produced annually, 5.1 million tons marketed); crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed, feed, and animal nutrition products through ag retail locations; convenience stores and gas stations (39 locations) under the Cenex Zip Trip brand; pipeline transportation services.
- Customers and end markets
- Primary customers are member cooperatives and agricultural producers in rural midwestern and western United States. Refined fuel products are sold approximately 75% to members and 25% to nonmembers, including independent retailers operating Cenex-branded convenience stores. Propane is sold primarily to rural customers for heating and agricultural use. Ag retail locations serve grain farmers who also purchase crop inputs. Oilseeds are purchased from members, other CHS businesses, and third parties connected to global grain marketing operations.
- Value-chain role
- Vertically integrated agricultural cooperative operating as grain originator, oilseed processor, petroleum refiner, pipeline operator, wholesale fuel distributor, and crop input retailer. CHS sits between agricultural producers (members) and downstream commodity markets, providing both input supply and output marketing services. It owns pipelines, refineries, grain terminals, and processing plants, giving it direct control over physical commodity flows.
- Geographic exposure
- Primarily United States, with operations concentrated in the Midwest and northern Plains states. Grain terminals in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas (13 U.S. locations as of 10-K filed 2025-11-05). International grain terminals in Brazil (5 locations) and Europe in Hungary and Romania (3 locations). Fertilizer terminal in Argentina. Refineries in Montana and Kansas. Pipelines spanning Montana, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.
