AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 6/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat31
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 1/4 · Integration and high utilization provide useful scale, but substitute commodities, equivalent Nutrition offerings and capacity-sensitive pricing limit structural protection. Relative cost superiority is not demonstrated.
durability · 1/4 · Operating assets are established, but economic protection is fragile: competitive pricing has already reduced volumes and margins, and ethanol gains depend partly on policy incentives.
customer dependency · 1/4 · Disclosed substitution and equivalent offerings indicate weak customer dependence. Stable processing demand does not demonstrate that customers face meaningful switching friction.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Plant restoration and broad first-half earnings recovery demonstrate adaptation, but actual competitive pricing pressure and the preceding gross-profit decline show incomplete protection against erosion.
Pricing power38
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 1/4 · Nutrition achieved $68 million of price increases in 2025, but Carbohydrate Solutions lost $330 million from lower prices and 2026 EMEA results faced competitive pricing pressure. Observed outcomes indicate weak company-wide pricing power.
retention · 2/4 · Near-capacity processing, relatively stable wheat-milling volumes and fulfillment of prepaid customer business provide indirect evidence of continuing demand. Lower volumes elsewhere and a Nutrition contract cancellation make the picture mixed; these are not customer-cohort retention measures.
margin resilience · 2/4 · The 2025 gross-profit decline and continuing sweetener and EMEA weakness show vulnerability. Nutrition and ethanol improvements demonstrate partial recovery, with plant restoration, foreign exchange and policy incentives limiting attribution to pricing power.
contractual freedom · 1/4 · Disclosed dependence of selling prices on competing processing capacity and highly substitutable commodities constrains practical pricing discretion. Specific customer repricing, termination and escalation clauses are not supplied.
Predictability62
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 50.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 35.39
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 5.28
Financial strength44
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 85.71
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 20.78
- interestCoverageGrade
- 18.64
- currentRatioGrade
- 49.20
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 2.00
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 3.96
- Current ratio (x)
- 1.37
Capital allocation85
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 10.33
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -4.81
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 0.25
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management56
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · ADM reduced capital spending and acquisitions in 2025, stopped program buybacks and repaid borrowings; first-half 2026 cash generation covered capital expenditures and dividends while credit lines were repaid. Prior substantial buybacks and impairments, working-capital-driven cash swings and modest share dilution make the multiyear record mixed rather than exceptional.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Actual below-target company-performance incentives and 62.1%-of-target PSU outcomes demonstrate performance sensitivity. Multiyear ROIC/EPS metrics, ownership requirements and hedging restrictions support alignment. Actual executive holdings are not established, and unvested time-based RSUs count toward ownership requirements.
execution · 2/4 · Restored operations, improved processing reliability and recovery across all three segments support improving execution. Management also reports approximately $200 million of savings. Prior impairments, downtime and ongoing pricing weakness temper the assessment; some recovery reflects policy and foreign exchange rather than execution alone.
governance · 2/4 · Independent oversight structures and shareholder rights are substantive positives. Actual intersegment accounting failures weigh against them, although the company disclosed remediation by June 2025 and effective control testing through year-end. Director-nominee disclosures do not establish subsequent election results.
Evidence
The Company partners with thousands of farmers around the world to purchase their crops and uses its integrated global origination, logistics, and manufacturing network to transform many of those raw commodities into an expansive array of products serving the food, feed, fuel, and industrial and consumer products sectors.
Item 1, Business: integrated origination, logistics and manufacturing network · Filed 17/02/2026
Processed volumes by product for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 were as follows (in metric tons): (In thousands) 2025 2024 Change Oilseeds 36,324 35,719 605 Corn 18,525 18,541 (16) The Company generally operates its production facilities, on an overall basis, at or near capacity, adjusting facilities individually, as needed, to react to the current margin environment and seasonal local supply and demand conditions.
MD&A: 2025 processing volumes and facility utilization · Filed 17/02/2026
The increase in processed oilseeds volumes in 2025 was primarily related to higher volumes in South America due to improved plant reliability, in addition to improved North America crush volumes driven by improved utilization after the restoration of operations at the Company’s Decatur, Illinois facility.
MD&A: processing-volume improvement from reliability and restored operations · Filed 17/02/2026
Competition impacts the Company’s ability to generate and increase its gross profit as a result of the following factors: –Pricing of the Company’s products is partly dependent upon industry processing capacity, which is impacted by competitor actions to bring idled capacity on-line, build new production capacity or execute aggressive consolidation; –Many of the products bought and sold by the Company are global commodities or are derived from global commodities that are highly price competitive and, in many cases, subject to substitution; –Significant changes in exchange rates of foreign currencies versus the U.S.
Item 1A, competition: capacity-sensitive pricing and commodity substitution · Filed 17/02/2026
The Company’s Nutrition business is a vertically integrated business that provides ingredients and solutions for humans and animals in a highly competitive environment with a variety of companies offering the same products and services.
Item 1, Business: Nutrition competition and equivalent offerings · Filed 17/02/2026
products; –Improved yields in different crop growing regions may reduce the reliance on origination territories in which the Company has a significant presence; and –Continued merger and acquisition activities resulting in further consolidations could result in greater cost competitiveness and global scale of certain players in the industry, especially when acquirers are state-owned and have profit and return objectives that may differ from private sector enterprises.
Item 1A, competition: origination geography and competitor consolidation risks · Filed 17/02/2026
In EMEA, results were driven by lower volumes and margins due to the competitive pricing environment.
MD&A, first-half 2026: EMEA competitive pricing, volumes and margins · Filed 04/08/2026
Carbohydrate Solutions revenues decreased 4% to $10.7 billion driven by lower sales prices ($330 million) and lower sales volumes ($167 million).
MD&A, 2025: Carbohydrate Solutions sales-price and volume declines · Filed 17/02/2026
Nutrition revenues increased 2% to $7.5 billion driven by higher sales prices ($68 million) and the benefit of a contract cancellation in Health and Wellness ($55 million).
MD&A, 2025: Nutrition price increases and contract-cancellation benefit · Filed 17/02/2026
Gross profit decreased $745 million or 13%, to $5.0 billion driven by a decrease in margins of $865 million in Ag Services and Oilseeds, partially offset by a margin increase of $113 million in Nutrition.
MD&A, 2025: gross-profit decline and segment margin changes · Filed 17/02/2026
The Starches and Sweeteners subsegment operating profit was higher compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher ethanol margins supported by policy incentives related to ADM’s corn wet-milling operations, which were partially offset by lower global liquid sweeteners volumes and margins and increased manufacturing costs.
MD&A, second-quarter 2026: ethanol incentives, sweetener weakness and manufacturing costs · Filed 04/08/2026
Human Nutrition subsegment operating profit was higher compared to the prior year period, as a result of higher Flavors sales and margins, including foreign exchange gains, and the continued recovery of the Decatur East plant.
MD&A, first-half 2026: Flavors improvement, foreign exchange and plant recovery · Filed 04/08/2026
Total segment operating profit (a non-GAAP measure) increased $637 million, from $1.6 billion to $2.2 billion, driven by higher results across all three reportable segments.
MD&A, first-half 2026: segment operating-profit recovery · Filed 04/08/2026
47 Table of Contents ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND COMPANY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In millions) Year Ended December 31 2025 2024 2023 Cash flows from operating activities Net earnings including non-controlling interests $ 1,073 $ 1,779 $ 3,466 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization 1,181 1,141 1,059 Asset impairment charges 361 519 309 Deferred income taxes (45) (130) (23) Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of dividends (224) (180) (143) Stock compensation expense 83 74 112 (Gain) loss on asset sales / investment revaluations, net 285 (12) 38 Other – net (25) 91 (91) Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and dispositions Segregated investments (43) (693) (194) Trade receivables 855 447 737 Inventories 1,511 162 2,889 Other current assets 672 665 694 Trade payables (473) (719) (1,544) Payables to brokerage customers 1,064 (78) (2,059) Accrued expenses and other payables (823) (276) (790) Net cash provided by operating activities 5,452 2,790 4,460 Cash flows from investing activities Capital expenditures (1,248) (1,563) (1,494) Net assets of businesses acquired (108) (927) (23) Proceeds from sales of assets, businesses and investments 111 66 60 Purchases of marketable securities (43) (308) — Proceeds from sales of marketable securities 277 84 — Other – net (6) (54) (39) Net cash used in investing activities (1,017) (2,702) (1,496) Cash flows from financing activities Long-term debt borrowings 11 27 501 Long-term debt payments (772) (1) (963) Net (repayments) borrowings under lines of credit agreements (1,114) 1,800 (390) Share repurchases, net of tax — (2,327) (2,673) Cash dividends (987) (985) (977) Acquisition of non-controlling interests (4) (8) — Other – net (21) (36) (102) Net cash used in financing activities (2,887) (1,530) (4,604) Effect of exchange rate on cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents 33 (24) (3) Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents 1,581 (1,466) (1,643) Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents – beginning of year 3,924 5,390 7,033 Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents – end of year $ 5,505 $ 3,924 $ 5,390 Cash paid for interest and income taxes were as follows: Interest $ 629 $ 710 $ 711 Income taxes $ 389 $ 658 $ 742 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
Consolidated statements of cash flows, 2023–2025 · Filed 17/02/2026
3 Table of Contents ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND COMPANY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) Six Months Ended June 30, 2026 2025 (In millions) Cash flows from operating activities Net earnings including non-controlling interests $ 1,215 $ 509 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization 586 578 Asset impairment charges 5 105 Deferred income taxes (112) (59) Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates, net of dividends (8) (18) Stock compensation expense 138 72 (Gain) loss on asset contributions, sales and investment revaluation, net (85) 150 Other – net 20 (104) Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and dispositions Segregated investments (177) 1,261 Trade receivables (379) 197 Inventories (298) 2,152 Other current assets (549) (41) Trade payables (185) (1,157) Payables to brokerage customers 276 708 Accrued expenses and other payables 852 (397) Net cash provided by operating activities 1,299 3,956 Cash flows from investing activities Capital expenditures (466) (596) Net assets of businesses acquired — (95) Proceeds from sales of assets, businesses and investments 56 41 Purchases of marketable securities — (11) Proceeds from sales of marketable securities 6 267 Other – net 31 3 Net cash used in investing activities (373) (391) Cash flows from financing activities Long-term debt payments (5) — Net repayments under lines of credit agreements (389) (1,057) Cash dividends (510) (495) Acquisition of non-controlling interest — (4) Other – net (51) (23) Net cash used in financing activities (955) (1,579) Effect of exchange rate on cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents (19) 34 (Decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents (48) 2,020 Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents - beginning of period 5,505 3,924 Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents - end of period $ 5,457 $ 5,944 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
Unaudited consolidated statements of cash flows, first-half 2026 and 2025 · Filed 04/08/2026
Thanks to our team’s diligent work in 2025, we: • Achieved approximately $200 million in cost savings, keeping us on track to achieve our 3-5 year goal of $500-750 million in targeted savings; • Drove improvements in plant efficiency across our asset network; • Generated strong cash flows; • Advanced recovery in Nutrition, delivering improved execution and increased revenue; • Restored operations at our Decatur East facility; • Executed an agreement to form an animal nutrition joint venture with Alltech (subsequently launched in Q1 2026), one of more than 20 successful portfolio optimization and simplification projects; • Reached a key decarbonization milestone by connecting our Columbus, Nebraska, corn plant to Tallgrass’s Trailblazer pipeline; • And, importantly, achieved the lowest injury rate in ADM’s history.
Shareholder letter: management-reported cost savings and operational achievements · Filed 26/03/2026
The increase in cash provided by operating activities in 2025 compared to 2024 was due to changes in net working capital, partially offset by lower earnings in the current year.
MD&A: working-capital contribution to 2025 operating cash-flow growth · Filed 17/02/2026
• Earned incentives reflected Company performance—The Company performance component of the annual incentive for 2025 was 44.7% out of 75% target, reflecting results versus preestablished company-wide goals for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”), adjusted free cash flow, and cash conversion cycle.
Compensation discussion: actual 2025 company-performance incentive outcome · Filed 26/03/2026
• LTI based on long-term results—PSUs for 2023-2025 were based on results versus preestablished goals for adjusted ROIC (50%), adjusted earnings per share (“EPS”) (50%) and a two-goal ESG modifier.
Compensation discussion: 2023–2025 PSU performance metrics · Filed 26/03/2026
• LTI based on long-term results — Performance share units (“PSUs”) for 2023 – 2025 were 62.1% of target.
Executive compensation highlights: actual 2023–2025 PSU outcome · Filed 26/03/2026
Independent Oversight Independent Board Leadership Independent Lead Director, selected by other independent directors, with clearly defined and robust responsibilities, as described on page 27 Independent Directors 12 of 13 director nominees (all except CEO) are independent Regular Executive Sessions Regular executive sessions of independent directors at board meetings Independent Committees 100% independent Board Committees Oversight of Key Areas Active independent oversight of Company’s strategy, financial reporting and internal controls, and risk management, as well as sustainability, health and safety, talent and succession planning, technology (cybersecurity and AI), and ethics and compliance Board Refreshment Regular Board Refreshment 5 director nominees have joined the Board since 2021, including the appointment of a new independent director in March 2026, with focus on a mix of tenures and skills/experiences appropriate for ADM’s long-term strategy and business Board Leadership Succession Planning Significant focus on Board leadership succession planning Annual Board Evaluations Annual Board and committee performance evaluations and individual director discussions, all facilitated by a third party; outcomes enhance the Board oversight process and are considered as part of director nominations Retirement Age Mandatory retirement age of 75 Alignment with Stockholders Annual Majority Vote Standard Annual election of all directors, with majority vote standard for uncontested director elections (plurality carve-out for contested elections) Proxy Access Rights A stockholder or group of up to 20 stockholders that has owned at least 3% of our common stock for at least 3 years may submit nominees for up to 20% of the Board Special Meeting Rights Holders of 10% of our common stock can call a special meeting of stockholders Stock Ownership Guidelines Robust stock ownership requirements for directors (5x maximum annual cash retainer) and executive officers (10x base salary for the CEO and 4x base salary for other NEOs) No Hedging or Pledging Directors and officers are prohibited from trading in derivative securities of our Company and from pledging any Company stock Board of Directors Highlights Our Board is comprised of directors with a broad array of perspectives who have a variety of skills and experience for effective oversight of the Company’s long-term strategy and business.
Corporate governance highlights: oversight, shareholder rights and ownership requirements · Filed 26/03/2026
Shares that count toward the ownership levels include shares owned outright, shares owned by immediate family members or a related trust if previously owned by the executive, shares held through the 401(k) plan, and unvested time-based RSUs.
Compensation policies: shares eligible toward executive ownership requirements · Filed 26/03/2026
In connection with the Investigation, the Company identified certain intersegment sales that occurred between the Company’s Nutrition reporting segment and the Company’s Ag Services and Oilseeds and Carbohydrate Solutions reporting segments that were not recorded at amounts approximating market.
Investigation disclosure: intersegment transactions recorded away from approximate market amounts · Filed 12/03/2024
Based on evidence validating the operational effectiveness of the Company’s newly implemented controls, as previously disclosed, the Company concluded that the previously disclosed material weakness was fully remediated as of June 30, 2025.
Item 9A: material weakness remediated as of June 30, 2025 · Filed 17/02/2026
The operational effectiveness of these implemented controls has been tested effectively through the end of the fiscal year.
Item 9A: implemented controls tested through fiscal year-end 2025 · Filed 17/02/2026
Revenues recognized in the year ended December 31, 2025 from contract liabilities as of December 31, 2024 were $529 million.
Revenue disclosures: 2025 revenue recognized from opening customer contract liabilities · Filed 17/02/2026
Revenues recognized in the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 from contract liabilities as of December 31, 2025 were $87 million and $309 million, respectively.
Revenue disclosures: 2026 revenue recognized from opening customer contract liabilities · Filed 04/08/2026
Global Wheat Milling results were relatively flat compared to the prior year quarter, as volumes remained relatively stable against a more competitive pricing backdrop.
MD&A, second-quarter 2026: stable wheat-milling volumes amid competitive pricing · Filed 04/08/2026
4 Table of Contents ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND COMPANY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (UNAUDITED) Equity Attributable to Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Common Stock Reinvested Earnings Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Non-controlling Interests Total Shareholders’ Equity (In millions, except per share amounts) Shares Amount Balance, March 31, 2026 482 $ 3,296 $ 22,019 $ (2,511) $ 7 $ 22,811 Comprehensive income Net earnings 908 1 909 Other comprehensive income 44 — 44 Cash dividends paid - $0.52 per share (256) (256) Share repurchases — — — Stock compensation expense — 74 74 Stock option exercises, net of taxes — (1) — (1) Other — — — (1) (1) Balance, June 30, 2026 482 $ 3,369 $ 22,671 $ (2,467) $ 7 $ 23,580 Balance, December 31, 2025 480 $ 3,281 $ 21,983 $ (2,531) $ 7 $ 22,740 Comprehensive income Net earnings 1,206 1 1,207 Other comprehensive income 64 — 64 Cash dividends paid - $1.04 per share (510) (510) Stock compensation expense 2 138 138 Stock option exercises, net of taxes — (53) — (53) Other — 3 (8) (1) (6) Balance, June 30, 2026 482 $ 3,369 $ 22,671 $ (2,467) $ 7 $ 23,580 Balance, March 31, 2025 480 $ 3,246 $ 21,981 $ (3,108) $ 8 $ 22,127 Comprehensive income Net earnings 219 (1) 218 Other comprehensive income 316 — 316 Cash dividends paid - $0.51 per share (248) (248) Share repurchases — — — — Stock compensation expense — 22 22 Stock option exercises, net of taxes — 2 — 2 Other — — — — 1 1 Balance, June 30, 2025 480 $ 3,270 $ 21,952 $ (2,792) $ 8 $ 22,438 Balance, December 31, 2024 478 $ 3,223 $ 21,933 $ (2,988) $ 10 $ 22,178 Comprehensive income Net earnings 514 (2) 512 Other comprehensive income 196 — 196 Cash dividends paid - $1.02 per share (495) (495) Stock compensation expense 2 72 72 Stock option exercises, net of taxes — (28) (28) Other — 3 — — — 3 Balance, June 30, 2025 480 $ 3,270 $ 21,952 $ (2,792) $ 8 $ 22,438 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial Statements.
Unaudited shareholders' equity statement: share issuance and compensation in first-half 2026 · Filed 04/08/2026
