Archer Daniels Midland Shares Stumble On Earnings Miss

Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. food processor and ethanol maker, said strong corn processing revenue helped the company to a healthy revenue beat, but a challenging quarter kept them short of meeting analyst earnings estimates. FQ3 net income was $362.9 million ($0.56/share) include a $33 million gain from the sale of its Arkady food ingredient business, on a net revenue gain of 25% to $11.38 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.62 on revenue of $9.65 billion. Corn processing operations were bolstered by lower operating costs and increased ethanol and sweetener pricing, but partially offset by higher corn costs. Shares are down 4.7% in pre-market trading to $36.88.

Sources: Press release, AP, Reuters
Commentary: The Profitability of Ethanol Production • Is Big Oil Curbing Ethanol Growth? • Ethanol is Here to Stay
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM). Competitors: Bunge (BG), Corn Products International Inc. (CPO). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods ETF (IYK)

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