Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The business had revenue of $18.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Archer Daniels Midland updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.600-4.250 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Archer Daniels Midland’s conference call:

• ADM reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.87 and FY adjusted EPS of $3.43, generated ~$2.7 billion of cash from operations (before working capital), realized a $1.5 billion cash benefit from inventory reduction, finished the year with 1.9x leverage, and paid its 376th consecutive quarterly dividend.
• The company set 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.60–$4.25, but said outcomes are highly dependent on the timing and magnitude of U.S. biofuel (RVO) policy clarity, China trade normalization, and market adoption—introducing material timing and mark-to-market uncertainty.
• AS&O underperformed: Q4 segment operating profit was $444 million (down 31%) and full-year AS&O was down 34%, driven by weaker North American exports, soft crush margins, negative timing effects and reduced insurance proceeds—pressuring near-term results.
• Within Carbohydrate Solutions, weaker Starches & Sweeteners were largely offset by much stronger ethanol performance (Vantage Corn Processors Q4 OP up ~187%), and ADM cited continued robust ethanol export opportunities plus an estimated (but variable) potential benefit from 45Z/45Q support.
• Nutrition is recovering—Decatur East is back online, specialty ingredients and flavors showed improvement, and the Alltech JV has commenced operations (reducing revenue as the business becomes an equity investment), although Q4 operating profit was down due mainly to lower insurance proceeds versus the prior year.

Archer Daniels Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $67.41. 6,261,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,972,404. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Archer Daniels Midland has a fifty-two week low of $40.98 and a fifty-two week high of $69.75. The company has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.38 and its 200 day moving average is $60.38.

Archer Daniels Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Archer Daniels Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Archer Daniels Midland

Here are the key news stories impacting Archer Daniels Midland this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat consensus — ADM reported $0.87 EPS versus ~$0.84 expected, showing earnings resilience despite a tougher top line. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase — ADM raised its dividend ~2%, extending its payout track record, which supports income investors and reduces some downside pressure. Archer Daniels Extending Royal Dividend Run With 2% Boost
• Neutral Sentiment: SEC settlement / governance developments — ADM’s recent SEC settlement and governance changes reduce a legal overhang and help clarify the path for Nutrition segment growth, but the long?term impact is still being assessed. ADM SEC Settlement Reshapes Governance Outlook For Nutrition Growth Story
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and segment weakness — Q4 revenue was $18.56B vs. ~$21.03B expected and fell ~13.7% YoY; Ag Services & Oilseeds and Carbohydrate sales declined and offset modest Nutrition growth. Archer Daniels Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Lower Segment Sales Hurt
• Negative Sentiment: FY2026 guidance disappoints — management set EPS guidance at $3.60–$4.25, slightly below consensus (~$4.23), which investors interpreted as a cautious near?term outlook and contributed to the stock decline. ADM shares tumble as 2026 guidance disappoints despite Q4 earnings beat
• Negative Sentiment: Policy and trade headwinds — management cited U.S. biofuel policy delays and trade turbulence as key drivers of lower volumes and pricing pressure, raising near?term execution risk for commodity and biofuel exposure. Archer Daniels Profit, Revenue Fall on Biofuel Policy and Trade Uncertainty

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer Daniels Midland

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 176.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,967,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,596 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Archer Daniels Midland by 12.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 908,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,261,000 after purchasing an additional 96,998 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc bought a new stake in Archer Daniels Midland during the third quarter worth $41,036,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 648,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,726,000 after purchasing an additional 86,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 644,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,995,000 after purchasing an additional 53,902 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Archer Daniels Midland from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Archer Daniels Midland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Archer Daniels Midland from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Archer Daniels Midland currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

About Archer Daniels Midland

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels.

ADM’s business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation.