ADM raised its full-year 2026 guidance for the third time this year on the back of strong third quarter (Q3) demand and growth in its ag services and oilseeds business, while the commodity giant laid out its case for a strong start to 2027.
For the quarter ending Sept. 30, ADM reported $1.4 billion in operating profits and $997 million in earnings before income taxes, compared to $845 million and $147 million for the same quarter last year, respectively.
Year-to-date, the company generated $2.5 billion in earnings before income taxes and $3.6 billion in total segment operating profit, compared to $779 million and $2.4 billion for the same period last year, respectively.ADM’s ag services and oilseeds (AS&O) division drove growth for the quarter, generating $1.382 billion in operating profits, compared to $845 million in the third quarter of 2025, for a 105% growth year-over-year.
Growth in the AS&O division was driven by gains in crushing, refined products, and its stake in Chinese soybean processor Wilmar. During the third quarter, ADM reported the following …
- ADM generated $311 million in crushing operating profits in the third quarter, compared to $13 million for the same quarter last year.
- The refined products and others segment grew operating profits to $218 million for an 82% year-over-year increase.
- ADM’s stake in Wilmar generated $77 million in Q3 2026 operating profits, compared to $56 million the same quarter last year.
- Operating profits for ADM’s ag service segment dropped to $172 million for a 9% decline on a year-on-year basis.
“Throughout this year, our substantial crushing, ethanol, and biodiesel footprints have given us tremendous access to a favorable North American margin environment and has been a true competitive advantage,” said Juan Luciano, chair of the board of directors, president CEO of ADM, in the Q3 earnings call.
ADM’s CEO lays out case for strong Q4 & 2027
Looking to the fourth quarter, ADM continues to take a proactive approach to capitalize on trade flows, which includes Mexico and Europe purchasing corn, the latter having struggled with low corn production this year and last, Luciano noted. Additionally, U.S. biofuel policy is providing tailwinds, and the company expects China to purchase North American soybeans – a sentiment that was echoed in previous quarterly earning calls.
While not issuing specific guidance for 2027, ADM expects the market to be in a similar position next year, where soybean meal demand remains strong and biofuel policy boosts demand for ethanol and biodiesel, Luciano explained.
“We look at ‘27 with optimism. We see a constructive market structure that actually looks substantially similar to 2026. We expect biofuels demand and margins to remain favourable as we saw during the second half of this year, and we expect there are going to be some supply chain disruptions,” Luciano noted.
