Corteva, Inc. (CTVA) Business

ITEM 1.  BUSINESS

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to:

•"Corteva" or "the company" refers to Corteva, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (including EIDP);

•"EIDP" refers to EIDP, Inc. (formerly known as E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company) and its consolidated subsidiaries or EIDP, Inc. excluding its consolidated subsidiaries, as the context may indicate;

•"DowDuPont" refers to DowDuPont Inc. and its subsidiaries prior to the Corteva Separation (as defined below);

•"Historical Dow" refers to The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the Internal Reorganization (as defined in Note 1 - Background and Basis of Presentation, to the Consolidated Financial Statements);

•"Historical DuPont" and "Historical EID" refers to EIDP prior to the Internal Reorganization;

•"Dow" refers to Dow Inc. after its separation from DowDuPont;

•"DuPont" refers to DuPont de Nemours, Inc. after the Corteva Separation; and

•"Merger" refers to the all-stock merger of equals strategic combination between Historical Dow and Historical DuPont.

Background

Corteva is a leading global provider of seed and crop protection solutions focused on the agriculture industry and contributing to a healthier, more secure and sustainable food supply. Corteva was incorporated in Delaware in March 2018 and maintains its business headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. With one of the broadest and most productive new product pipelines in the agriculture industry, Corteva is focused on progressing science-based innovations, which aim to deliver a wide range of improved agriculture products and services to its customers. The company leverages its rich heritage of scientific achievement to advance its robust innovation pipeline and continue to shape the future of responsible agriculture. New products are crucial to solving farmers’ productivity challenges amid a growing global population while addressing natural resistance, evolving environmental and weather patterns, regulatory changes, safety requirements and competitive dynamics. The company’s investments seek to generate returns through providing farmers with technology-based and solution-based product offerings to meet these evolving production needs. Meanwhile, through Corteva’s unique routes to market, the company continues to work face-to-face with farmers around the world to understand their needs.

The company's broad portfolio of agriculture solutions fuels farmer productivity in approximately 110 countries. See Note 21 - Geographic Information, to the Consolidated Financial Statements, for details on the location of the company's sales and property.

Prior to March 31, 2019, Corteva, Inc. had engaged in no business operations and had no assets or liabilities of any kind, other than those incident to its formation by DowDuPont. As of April 1, 2019, DowDuPont, Dow, and Corteva, Inc entered into an agreement that sets forth, among other things, the effectuation of Corteva’s separation from DowDuPont and the governance of certain aspects of the companies’ ongoing relationships after the completion of their respective separations (the "Corteva Separation Agreement"). The separation of Corteva from DowDuPont was effectuated through a pro rata distribution (the “Corteva Distribution”) of all of the then-issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Corteva, Inc. (the “Corteva Separation”). On June 1, 2019, Corteva, Inc. became an independent, publicly traded company trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CTVA.” Prior to the Corteva Separation, EIDP was contributed to Corteva, Inc. resulting in Corteva, Inc. owning 100% of the outstanding common stock of EIDP. Shares of EIDP preferred stock, $3.50 Series and $4.50 Series, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Corteva Separation, remained issued and outstanding and were unaffected by the Corteva Separation.

Business Segments

The company’s operations are managed through two operating segments: Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies commercial seed combining superior germplasm with advanced traits to produce high yield potential for farmers around the world. The Crop Protection segment supplies products to protect crop yields against weeds, insects and disease, enabling farmers to achieve optimal results. On October 1, 2025, the company announced its intent to separate its Seed and Crop Protection businesses into two standalone, publicly traded companies, in a transaction that is intended to be a tax-free spin-off for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Additional information with respect to business segment results is included in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, on page 39 of this report and Note 22 - Segment Information, to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Seed

The Seed segment is a global leader in developing and supplying commercial seed combining advanced germplasm and traits that offer maximum yield potential for farmers around the world. The company’s Seed segment is a leader in many key seed

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markets, including North America corn and soybeans, Europe corn and sunflower, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and Argentina corn. The company offers seed and trait technologies that boost resilience to weather, pests, diseases, and herbicides used to manage weeds. Its digital solutions provide data‑driven insights to help farmers optimize yield and profitability. As a separate company, the Seed business plans to grow through opportunities in gene editing, biofuels, hybrid wheat, expanded crop offerings, out-licensing, and mergers and acquisitions.

A summary of the Seed segment’s net sales by major product line and geographic region (based on customer location) are as follows:

Products and Brands

The Seed segment’s major brands and technologies, by key product line, are listed below:

In connection with the validation of breeding plans and large-scale product development timelines focused on rapidly ramping up differentiated technology solutions, in 2019 the company began accelerating the ramp up of the Enlist E3® trait technology in the company’s soybean portfolio mix across all brands, including the Pioneer® and Brevant® seed brand. In 2025,

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substantially all of the company's branded soybean portfolio offers the Enlist E3® trait, in proprietary Corteva germplasm. Enlist E3® technology has rapidly become the leading herbicide tolerance trait for soybeans in the United States. In Brazil, growth in adoption of Conkesta E3® soybean technology is being pursued through licensing.

Distribution

The Seed segment has a diverse worldwide network which markets and distributes the company’s brands to customers, primarily through the company’s multi-channel, multi-brand strategy, which includes four differentiated channels: Pioneer agency model, regional seed brands, retail, as well as third parties through licensing and distribution channels.

The Pioneer agency model is unique to Corteva and represents sales made directly to farmers primarily via independent sales representatives. Through this agency model, the company interacts directly with farmers at multiple points in the growing season, from prior to planting all the way through harvest. These regular interactions enable the company to provide the advice and service farmers need while giving the company real-time insights into the customers’ future ordering decisions. The company’s regional seed brands connect to customers through regional brand employees and farmer-dealer networks. Retail brands are offered through full-service retail storefronts which provide a one-stop shop for seed and chemistry solutions and may include sales to distributors, agricultural cooperatives, and dealers. Finally, Corteva out-licenses traits and germplasm to third parties.

Key Raw Materials

The key raw materials for the Seed segment include corn and soybean seeds. To produce high-quality seeds, the company contracts with third-party growers globally. Corteva focuses on production close to the customer to provide the seed product, which is suitable for that region and its weed, insect and disease challenges, weather, soil and other conditions. The company conditions and packages the seeds using its own plants and third-party contract production plants. By striking a balance between owning production facility assets directly and contracting with third-party growers, the company believes it is best able to maintain flexibility to react to demand changes unique to each geography while minimizing costs. The company seeks to collaborate with strategic seed growers and share its digital agronomy and product management knowledge with them. The company’s third-party growers are an important part of its supply chain. Corteva provides them with rigorous training, planning tools and access to a system that tests and advances products matched to specific geographic needs.

The Seed segment's research and development ("R&D") and supply chain groups work seamlessly to select and maintain product characteristics that enhance the quality of its seed products and solutions. Corteva focuses on customer-driven innovation to deliver superior germplasm and trait technologies. With its large sets of digitized data and globally connected network, the company can manage its field operations efficiently and draw insights from data quickly and effectively. This allows the company’s supply chain to react quickly to changing customer needs and provides the production team with tremendous amounts of data to analyze and incorporate into resource allocation decisions, as well as future R&D product advancement decisions. The company continues to invest in and build capabilities that drive value via data digitization and analytics that enable it to create an even more responsive and efficient answer to customer needs.

Crop Protection

The Crop Protection segment serves the global agricultural input industry with products that protect against weeds, insects and other pests, and disease, and that support overall crop health both above and below ground via nitrogen management and seed-applied technologies. The segment's crop protection solutions and digital solutions provide farmers tools to improve productivity and profitability, and help keep fields free of weeds, insects and diseases. The company is a leader in global herbicides, insecticides, nitrogen stabilizers, pasture and range management herbicides and biologicals and other nature-based products. As a separate company, the Crop Protection business plans to grow through its differentiated, sustainable product offerings, including biologicals, with a focus on operational excellence and disciplined mergers and acquisitions.

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A summary of the Crop Protection segment’s net sales by major product line and geographic region (based on customer location) are as follows:

Products and Brands

The Crop Protection segment’s major brands and technologies, by key product line, are listed below:

Key Raw Materials

The key raw materials and supplies for the Crop Protection segment include chlorinated pyridines derivatives, specialty intermediates and technical grade active ingredients, chlorine, and seed treatments. Typically, the company purchases major raw materials through long-term contracts with multiple suppliers, which sometimes require minimum purchase commitments. Certain important raw materials are supplied by a few major suppliers. The company expects the markets for its raw materials to remain balanced. The company relies on contract manufacturers, both domestically and internationally, to produce certain inputs or key components for its product formulations. These inputs are sourced globally and the company generally formulates its products close to its end customers. Shifts in customer demand, reduced local availability of raw materials, and/or production capacity constraints may, at times, necessitate sourcing from an alternative geography. The company strives to maintain multiple high-quality supply sources for each input.

Corteva’s supply chain strategy involves managing global supplies of active and intermediate ingredients sourced regionally with global best practices and oversight. Corteva’s supply strategy includes a robust and flexible global footprint to meet future portfolio growth. The company’s supply chain also provides competitive advantages including reducing time to meet customer requirements in regions while minimizing costs through the value chain.

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Seasonality

Corteva’s sales are generally strongest in the first half of the calendar year, which aligns with the planting and growing season in the northern hemisphere. The company typically generates about 60 percent of its sales in the first half of the calendar year, driven by northern hemisphere Seed and Crop Protection sales. The company generates about 40 percent of its sales in the second half of the calendar year, led by Seed sales in the southern hemisphere. The seasonality in sales impacts both the Seed and Crop Protection segments. The company’s direct distribution channel, where products are shipped to farmers, is more affected by planting delays than its competitors. Generally speaking, unfavorable weather slows the planting season and can affect the company’s quarterly results and sales mix. Severe unfavorable weather, however, can impact overall sales. Accounts receivable tends to be higher during the first half of the year, consistent with the peak sales period in the northern hemisphere, with cash collection focused in the fourth quarter.

Human Capital Management

Corteva aims to attract the best employees, and to retain those employees through offering career development and training opportunities while also prioritizing their safety and wellness in an inclusive and productive work environment. The company’s strong employee base, along with its commitment to Corteva’s core values, is a key element to the success of its business.

Workforce Composition. As of December 31, 2025, the company globally employs approximately 21,500 employees. In order to address regional specific customer needs within its global business, the company has a geographically diverse employee base with 47 percent, 21 percent, 20 percent, and 12 percent located in the North America, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific regions, respectively.

Approximately 2 percent of the United States workforce is unionized and another 13 percent of our global workforce participate in works councils and collective bargaining arrangements outside the United States. In 2025, the company did not experience any work stoppages due to strike or lockouts.

Safety. Living safely is one of the company’s core values by which the company manages its business. The company has implemented safety programs and management practices to promote a culture of safety to protect its employees, as well as the environment. This includes required trainings for employees, as well as specific qualifications and certifications for certain operational employees.

Inclusion. The company has a robust inclusion and belonging vision and strategy, based upon the belief that embracing individual differences benefits the company by creating a workforce with a greater variety of skills and perspectives as a result of their differentiated backgrounds and experiences. Specific inclusion and belonging initiatives are identified and tracked to create a culture of belonging that is designed to create an inclusive environment where the best talent is attracted, retained, and engaged. Critical to creating this environment are company-sponsored employee business resource groups (“BRGs”) that support and promote certain mutual objectives of both the employee and the company, including community engagement and the professional development of employees. The BRGs are open to all employees and provide a voluntary space where employees can foster connections within a supportive environment. The company maintains nine global BRGs, each led by a member of the company’s senior leadership: Disability Awareness Network; Global African Heritage Alliance; Global Indigenous Peoples Alliance; Growing Asian Impact Network; Latin Network; Pride; Professional Learning Acceleration Network; Veteran’s Network; and Women’s Inclusion Network.

The company monitors its recruitment and talent development processes, to prevent and detect inequities and potentially discriminatory practices that could negatively impact the creation of an inclusive culture and the retention of key talent for our leadership pipeline. The company reviews its inclusion and belonging efforts through periodic engagement surveys and other measures. The results of the company’s efforts, along with its inclusion and belonging strategy, are reviewed periodically with the company’s management, and through annual reviews of the company’s leadership pipelines and inclusion and belonging programs with the People and Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

Experienced Management. The company believes its management team has the experience necessary to effectively execute its strategy and advance its product pipelines and technology. The company's chief executive officer and business presidents have an average of approximately 20 years of agriculture experience and are supported by an experienced and talented management team that is dedicated to maintaining and expanding its position as a global force in the agriculture industry.

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Intellectual Property

Corteva considers its intellectual property estate, which includes patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights, in the aggregate, to constitute a valuable asset of Corteva and actively seeks to secure intellectual property rights as part of an overall strategy to protect its investment in innovations and maximize the results of its research and development program. While the company believes that its intellectual property estate, taken as a whole, provides a competitive advantage in many of its businesses, no single patent, trademark, license or group of related patents or licenses is in itself essential to the company as a whole or to any of the company’s segments.

Trade secrets are also an important element of the company's intellectual property. Many of the processes used to make Corteva products are kept as trade secrets which, from time to time, may be licensed to third parties. Corteva vigilantly protects its intellectual property. When the company discovers that its intellectual property has been unlawfully taken, it will take measures to mitigate any potential impact, which may include civil actions seeking redress, restitution and/or damages based on loss to the company and/or unjust enrichment, as well as reporting the matter to governmental authorities for investigation and potential criminal action, as appropriate.

Patents & Trademarks.  Corteva continually applies for and obtains U.S. and foreign patents and has access to a large patent portfolio, both owned and licensed. Corteva’s rights under these patents and licenses, as well as the products made and sold under them, are important to the company in the aggregate. The protection afforded by these patents varies based on country, scope of individual patent coverage, as well as the availability of legal remedies in each country. This significant patent estate may be leveraged to align with the company’s strategic priorities within and across product lines. At December 31, 2025, the company owned about 5,900 U.S. patents and about 10,200 active patents outside of the U.S.

Remaining life of granted patents owned as of December 31, 2025:

In addition to its owned patents, the company owns approximately 3,400 patent applications.

The company also owns or has licensed a substantial number of trade names, trademarks and trademark registrations in the United States and other countries, including approximately 11,900 registrations and 1,300 pending trademark applications in a number of jurisdictions.

In addition, the company holds multiple long-term biotechnology trait licenses from third parties in the normal course of business. Most corn hybrids and soybean varieties sold to customers contain biotechnology traits licensed from third parties under these long-term licenses.

Competition

The company competes with producers of seed germplasm, trait developers, and crop protection products on a global basis. The global market for products within the industry is highly competitive and the company believes competition has and will continue to intensify. Corteva competes based on germplasm and trait leadership, price, quality and cost competitiveness. The company’s key competitors include BASF, Bayer, FMC, Syngenta and ChemChina, as well as companies trading in generic crop protection chemicals and regional seed companies.

Environmental Matters

Information related to environmental matters is included in several areas of this report: (1) Environmental Proceedings beginning on page 26; (2) Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on pages 58-59; and (3) Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, and Note 15 - Commitments and Contingent Liabilities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Regulatory Considerations

Our seed and crop protection products and operations are subject to certain approval procedures, manufacturing requirements and environmental protection laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. We evaluate and test products throughout the research and development phases, and each new technology undergoes further rigorous scientific studies and tests to validate that the product can be used effectively and that use of the technology is safe for humans and animals and does not cause undue harm to the environment when used in accordance with the directions for use.

The regulatory approval processes and procedures globally are becoming increasingly more complex, which has resulted in additional testing needs, longer approval timelines that are difficult to predict, and higher development and maintenance costs. We continue to invest on an ongoing basis to keep dossiers current, respond to regulators and meet evolving regulatory standards required by global regulatory frameworks. Failure to comply with these regulations or future regulatory bans and requirements related to our products and their use may materially impact our financial performance.

Regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMOs”) and Gene Editing

Genetically modified seed products are subject to regulatory approval processes and procedures. For example, in the United States, the Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology governs genetically modified or gene edited organisms, using existing U.S. legislation and legal authorities on food, feed and environmental safety. Plant GMOs are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (the “USDA”) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (the “APHIS”) under the Plant Protection Act. The APHIS assesses the trait to ensure that the trait will not pose a plant pest and is not a noxious weed. GMOs in food are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FFDCA”). The FDA ensures that the food is safe for food and feed. Pesticides and microorganisms containing GMOs are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (the “FIFRA”) and the Toxic Substances Control Act. The EPA assesses the trait or the stack containing the traits to ensure that there is no unreasonable adverse effect to the environment.

Other countries also have rigorous approval processes, procedures, and scientific testing requirements for the cultivation or import of genetically modified seed products and gene editing technology. In the United States and other countries that have functioning regulatory systems, a rigorous scientific review is conducted by these agencies to demonstrate that genetically modified and gene edited products are as safe as traditionally bred, non-biotech/GMO counterparts for food, feed and the environment. Various countries in EMEA, Latin America, and Asia Pacific have banned GMOs entirely.

Regulation of Crop Protection Products

Globally, manufacturers of crop protection products, including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides are required to submit an application/dossier and obtain government regulatory approval prior to selling products in a particular country. In the United States, the EPA is responsible for registering and overseeing the approval and marketing of pesticides, pursuant to the FIFRA, the FFDCA and the Food Quality Protection Act. Also, the USDA and the FDA monitor levels of pesticide residue that is allowed on or in crops. Already registered pesticides are required to be re-registered every 15 years to ensure that those products continue to meet the rigorous safety standards set by the regulators. The EPA reevaluates pesticide tolerances at least every 10 years, taking into account ecological and human health risks, in addition to cumulative risks as a result of multiple routes and sources of exposure. For certain crop protection applications, we rely on the availability of data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address potential risks to human health.

Beginning in January 2022, before registering any new conventional pesticide active ingredient, the EPA evaluates the potential effects on listed species and their designated critical habitats under the Endangered Species Act (the “ESA”). The EPA also has initiated such evaluations for certain other active ingredients in response to existing or threatened litigation. Where the EPA determines that a pesticide in the registration and re-evaluation processes “may affect” a listed species, the EPA must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. As part of its approval, registration, and reevaluation processes, the EPA may impose certain use restrictions on crop protection products under the ESA. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service add additional listed species, the EPA may initiate new ESA evaluations. Under the citizen suit provisions, the ESA also includes citizen suit provisions that allow the public to bring suit in court against federal agencies when they believe a listed species is not being adequately protected by the EPA. FIFRA contains similar provisions that allow the public to challenge an EPA’s registration decision. These lawsuits may subject products to additional use limitations and labeling requirements and further studies, as well as result in registrations being revoked, in whole or in part.

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The company's European operations are subject to the European chemical regulation REACH (“Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals”) and the CLP (“Classification, Labeling, and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures”). Other jurisdictions also have rigorous approval processes, procedures and scientific testing requirements for the approval of crop protection products. We continue to monitor legislative and regulatory developments related to pollution and other environmental health and safety matters.

Available Information

The company's annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports are accessible on Corteva's website at http://investors.corteva.com by clicking on the section labeled "Financial Information", then on "SEC Filings." These reports are made available, without charge, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the company files or furnishes them electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No portion of the company's website mentioned in this report, or the materials contained on it, have been made part of this annual report on Form 10-K or incorporated herein by reference, unless such incorporation is specifically mentioned herein.