ADM Q3 2026 Earnings: Biofuels Lift Segment Profit and Full-Year Guidance

ADM (NYSE: ADM) reported Q3 2026 net earnings of $821 million and GAAP diluted EPS of $1.70, compared with EPS of $0.22 a year earlier, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. Adjusted diluted EPS rose 92% to $1.77, while non-GAAP total segment operating profit increased 64% to $1.382 billion as biofuels-linked businesses drove most of the improvement. ADM also raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance.

Core Earnings Data

All three reportable segments generated higher operating profit, although the scale of improvement varied considerably. Earnings before income taxes increased to $997 million from $147 million, while total segment operating profit rose by $537 million; the latter excludes Corporate, Other Business and specified items.

ADM’s total segment operating profit also excluded $36 million of net specified-item charges. The following figures are in millions of dollars except per-share amounts.

ADM classifies percentage changes above 200% as not meaningful. All reported EPS figures are diluted.

Business and Segment Performance

Ag Services and Oilseeds produced most of the company’s segment profit increase, while Carbohydrate Solutions also benefited from ethanol economics. Nutrition remained profitable but grew much more slowly.

Ag Services and Oilseeds profit more than doubled. Crushing profit increased by $298 million to $311 million, supported by North American biofuels margins, domestic demand following the finalization of Renewable Volume Obligation policy, higher global energy prices and continued soybean meal demand. Global crush production volume increased 1.6%, although delayed biofuels policy changes in Brazil pressured South American margins.

Refined Products and Other profit rose 82% to $218 million, largely because of favorable North American biodiesel margins. Ag Services was the exception within the segment, declining 9% to $172 million as weaker results in parts of ADM’s global agricultural supply chain outweighed some of the benefit from higher North American corn and soybean exports. Wilmar equity earnings increased 38% to $77 million.

Carbohydrate Solutions profit rose 40%. Vantage Corn Processors increased profit by $103 million to $146 million as North American ethanol margins benefited from policy incentives, domestic demand and industry exports. Starches and Sweeteners grew 11% to $324 million because ethanol margins more than offset continued weakness in liquid sweetener margins and volumes.

Nutrition profit increased only 3%. Human Nutrition declined 3% to $93 million as progress in Flavors and the Decatur East plant recovery was more than offset by unplanned downtime, input-cost inflation, softer Biotics demand and a difficult comparison with $10 million of insurance proceeds in the prior-year quarter. Animal Nutrition rose 21% to $41 million on operational improvements and benefits from portfolio actions taken in 2025.

Profitability and Corporate Costs

Corporate results improved to a $470 million loss from a $532 million loss, mainly because prior-year impairment losses did not recur. However, net interest expense increased to $130 million from $98 million, and unallocated corporate function costs rose to $304 million from $265 million.

Other Business results also benefited from a one-time release of certain insurance reserves. The consolidated pretax improvement therefore reflected both stronger segment operations and favorable items outside the reportable segments.

Biofuels Economics Drove Most of the Profit Acceleration

The concentration of profit growth shows how important biofuels conditions were during the quarter. Crushing and Vantage Corn Processors generated a combined $401 million of year-over-year operating profit growth, representing approximately three-quarters of the $537 million increase in total segment operating profit. Refined Products and Other added another $98 million of growth.

Not all of the Ag Services and Oilseeds improvement represented underlying realized operating performance. The segment included approximately $35 million of net positive mark-to-market and timing effects, led by a roughly $45 million positive impact in Refined Products and Other and partly offset by negative effects in Ag Services and Crushing. ADM notes that these effects are not necessarily representative of operating performance and are ultimately realized when the underlying positions settle.

2026 Guidance

Supported by its year-to-date performance and fourth-quarter outlook, ADM raised its full-year adjusted EPS range. It also lowered planned capital expenditures, which management attributed to continued prioritization of high-return investments.

Management expects year-over-year fourth-quarter operating profit improvement in all three segments. The adjusted EPS outlook is non-GAAP; ADM did not provide a forecasted GAAP EPS figure or quantitative reconciliation because it cannot reasonably predict certain impairment, restructuring, acquisition-related, regulatory, legal and tax items.

Recent Insider Transactions

The supplied insider data show no reported insider purchases or sales during the preceding six-month period and total insider holdings of approximately 3.41 million shares. The latest 10 records over the prior two years comprised six stock awards and four sales, with the sales carrying a combined reported value of approximately $10.11 million.

The awards recorded at $0 represent stock grants rather than open-market purchases. All 10 transactions were classified as direct holdings in the supplied data.

Risks Investors Should Watch

• Biofuels policy and margin sensitivity: Much of the quarterly improvement came from RVO-related demand, policy incentives and higher energy prices. Changes in these conditions could affect Crushing, biodiesel and ethanol margins.
• Timing and one-time benefits: Ag Services and Oilseeds included $35 million of positive mark-to-market and timing effects, while Other Business benefited from an insurance reserve release. These contributions may not recur at the same level.
• Nutrition execution: Unplanned downtime, input-cost inflation and weak Biotics demand outweighed operational progress in Human Nutrition during the quarter.
• Regional and trade conditions: Delayed biofuels policy changes in Brazil pressured South American crush margins, while parts of the global agricultural supply chain produced weaker Ag Services results.
• Fourth-quarter execution: The higher full-year EPS range incorporates management’s expectation that operating profit will improve year over year across every segment in the fourth quarter.

Conclusion

ADM’s Q3 2026 results showed a marked earnings recovery led primarily by North American biofuels-exposed businesses, while Nutrition delivered only modest growth. The higher full-year outlook indicates that management expects the improvement to continue, but the durability of biofuels margins, the treatment of timing-related gains and execution in Human Nutrition remain the principal operating factors to monitor.