The past six weeks haven’t been easy ones for Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) shareholders. MON stock has fallen more than 10% since its late-February peak of $126 per share, and with its already-tainted image suffering another blow last week, investors are understandably worried the end of the rout may be nowhere in sight. Pressing the issue is the Monsanto earnings report for its second fiscal quarter, due before the open on Wednesday, April 1.

What should current or prospective owners of MON stock expect from the Monsanto earnings news, and perhaps more importantly, what else should they be thinking about along with the numbers? Quite a bit, actually.

Monsanto Earnings Outlook

As of the most recent look, Monsanto is expected to earn $2.93 per share on $5.58 billion in revenue in the second fiscal quarter of 2015, which ended on the last day of February. Both are noticeably weaker than their year-ago comparisons, when MON stock boasted EPS of $3.15 and drove $5.83 billion in sales.

Those who follow MON stock closely know it’s unusual for the company to post a weaker top and bottom line. What makes Q2 apt to be out of character for the agricultural-, chemical-, and seed-maker?

The biggest drag on the Monsanto earnings figures for the second quarter is likely a soft corn market.

Corn is arguably the most important crop to Monsanto. That’s presently a problem, as corn production in the United States is slowing down. In fact, the USDA recently reported that the number of farm acreage in the U.S. used to grow corn actually fell 4% last year. It’s also worth noting that the Q1 Monsanto earnings results showed measurable weakness in the company’s corn business. Corn seed sales fell 12% on a year-over-year basis, contributing to a 30% year-over-year dip in MON stock EPS for the first quarter.

On the flipside, Monsanto may end up dishing out a pleasant surprise on Wednesday morning, thanks to solid results from its soybean business.

Already on the rise due to stronger soybean prices and weakening corn prices, industry experts believe U.S. farms will plant a second consecutive record-breaking amount of soybeans this spring. These observers believe the USDA will project a 3% increase in the acreage of soybean crops this year after last year’s equally-impressive increase.

Simultaneously, low oil and gas prices have made it cheaper for Monsanto to operate its businesses. While this won’t boost the top line, it could significantly shrink the expense lines of its income statement.

Other Issues at Hand for MON Shareholders

While the Monsanto earnings report on Wednesday will give us a much better idea about the health of the business, frankly there’s still an 800-pound gorilla in the room: Monsanto is rapidly becoming one of America’s most-hated companies.

That’s not to say the public is being reasonable or even fair with its perception of MON. But, it doesn’t matter. The perception is the perception.

One such ding to the company’s image is a recent report from the World Health Organization that glyphosate — one of the key ingredients in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer — likely causes cancer. The company denies the findings, of course, but the damage is done. It’s a little too easy for the public to believe a weed-killer could be carcinogenic for the company to merely dismiss the suggestion and make the fear fade away.

Fanning the flames of outrage was more recent news that it had been fined $600,000 by the EPA for failing to report leaks of dangerous chemicals at one of its plants in Idaho. For an organization that speaks as if it has nothing to hide, it certainly seems as if it has something to hide.

Point being, the public has seen just a few too many gaffes and controversies from the company of late. Their cumulative effect is now likely to start actually posing problems for future MON stock earnings results. Some serious damage control needs to be done, now.

Bottom Line for MON Stock

Statistically speaking, the organization is more likely to top earnings estimates than miss them; MON stock has topped EPS estimates in four of the last five quarters.

On the other hand, even a handy beat on Wednesday morning may not prove to be enormously beneficial to MON shares. The company’s got much bigger things on its mind now, like capitalizing on the preference shift from corn to soybeans and moving back into the public’s good graces. Until that clearly happens, however, an earnings miss could prove to be outsized trouble for MON stock.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.