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Ethanol rarely makes headlines the way oil or natural gas does, but the industry quietly underpins a large share of the fuel Americans pump into their cars every day. Nearly all gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with ethanol, most of it made from corn grown across the Midwest. The business runs on a delicate balance: corn costs on one side, fuel and co-product prices on the other, with the gap between them, known as the crush margin, determining whether a producer makes money or loses it in any given quarter.
One of the companies operating in that space is REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE: REX), based in Dayton, Ohio. The company holds interests in six ethanol production facilities. Two of them, One Earth Energy and NuGen Energy, are fully consolidated into its financial results, while the other four are reported through equity income from unconsolidated affiliates. Alongside its fuel business, REX also carries a small legacy real estate segment left over from its earlier years as a retail company.
For its fiscal second quarter of 2026, REX reported net income per share of $1.06, up sharply from $0.22 in the same period last year. Net sales and revenue rose to $168.5 million from $158.6 million, and net income attributable to shareholders climbed to $34.9 million from $7.1 million a year earlier. Gross profit more than tripled to $53.3 million from $14.3 million, a jump the company attributed to stronger crush margins and production tax credit income.
That tax credit piece is worth explaining, since it played a real role in the quarter. REX generated $18.4 million in income from Section 45Z production tax credits, a federal incentive tied to the carbon intensity of fuel production. Even excluding that benefit, management said gross profit from core operations still grew 144% compared with the prior year, suggesting the improvement was not simply a one-time accounting boost. The quarter also marked the company’s 24th consecutive profitable quarter, a streak that stretches back several years and speaks to how the business has been managed through periods when margins were far less favorable.
Liquidity has been another consistent theme. As of July 31, 2026, REX held $379.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, and the company carries no bank debt. That combination gives it room to fund ongoing projects, including a carbon capture initiative tied to its ethanol operations, without leaning on outside financing. Earlier in the year, REX reported first quarter fiscal 2026 net income per share of $0.56, and for the full 2025 fiscal year it posted a record annual figure of $2.50 per share.
None of this means the ethanol business is immune to swings. Crush margins move with corn prices, energy costs, and demand for gasoline blending, all of which can shift quickly and outside any single company’s control. What the last several quarters show is a producer that has managed those swings without taking on debt, while still funding new projects like carbon capture that could shape how the business looks over the next several years. Whether that pattern holds through the fall driving season, when fuel demand typically firms up, will likely be the next test for a company that has quietly built a long run of profitability in a business known for anything but steady results.
