Loading blog posts...
August 8, 2025 • 4 min read
Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), a cornerstone of the global food system, plays a pivotal role in transforming crops into products that serve vital needs for food and energy. As a leading agricultural supply chain manager and processor, its performance offers a window into the health of the global farm economy. In this post, we'll delve into the company's latest financial results from its Q2 2025 10-Q filing to understand its recent performance and the factors shaping its business.
For the quarter ending June 30, 2025, ADM reported total revenues of $21.2 billion. While this is an immense figure, it represents a decline from the $22.2 billion recorded in the same quarter last year. More significantly, net income fell to $217 million, a steep drop from the $481 million earned in Q2 2024. This translates to diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.45, less than half of the $0.98 reported a year prior.
This flow diagram provides a visual breakdown of how the company's revenue translated into profit during the quarter, highlighting the major costs and expenses along the way.
Please log in to view diagrams.
To understand the headline numbers, we need to look at ADM's distinct business segments.
Ag Services and Oilseeds: This is ADM's largest division, responsible for originating, merchandising, and transporting agricultural commodities, as well as crushing oilseeds like soybeans. It generated $16.3 billion in revenue, but its operating profit declined to $379 million from $459 million last year. This dip in the company's core business is the primary driver of the overall weaker results, suggesting pressure on margins in the global commodity markets.
Carbohydrate Solutions: This segment, which produces starches, sweeteners, and ethanol, showed more stability. Revenue was relatively flat at $2.8 billion, with operating profit seeing a modest dip to $337 million from $357 million. This segment's performance was steady in a challenging environment.
Nutrition: A key area of strategic focus for ADM, the Nutrition segment delivered a positive result. This division, which creates value-added ingredients for human and animal foods, saw revenue grow to nearly $2.0 billion and operating profit inch up to $114 million from $109 million. While the smallest of the three, its resilience and growth highlight the importance of ADM's push into higher-margin, specialized products.
While revenue was down, a closer look at expenses reveals another part of the story. The cost to produce its goods was $19.8 billion, resulting in a gross profit of $1.37 billion and a tight gross margin of 6.5%.
However, a standout figure on the income statement was "Asset impairment, exit, and restructuring costs," which surged to $137 million for the quarter, compared to just $7 million in the same period last year. These are not everyday operating costs but charges related to strategic decisions, such as shutting down facilities, exiting business lines, or writing down the value of underperforming assets. This sharp increase significantly weighed on operating income, which stood at $322 million.
In summary, ADM's second-quarter results paint a picture of a company navigating significant headwinds in its traditional commodity businesses. The decline in profitability within the Ag Services and Oilseeds segment underscores the cyclical and often volatile nature of agricultural markets.
At the same time, the company is actively managing its portfolio, as evidenced by the substantial restructuring charges. The steady growth in the Nutrition segment provides a silver lining, demonstrating progress on its long-term strategy to diversify into more stable, higher-value markets. For investors and market watchers, the key will be to monitor whether the pressures in the commodity markets persist and how effectively ADM's strategic shifts can counterbalance them in the quarters to come.
Last updated: August 8, 2025