CluenexArcher Daniels Midland ADM
Archer Daniels Midland scores weak on business quality (2.7 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Archer Daniels Midland does
Archer-Daniels-Midland processes oilseeds, corn, and wheat into food ingredients, animal feeds, and biofuels. Global food processors and industrial clients pay ADM for massive agricultural supply chain and milling scale.
- What it does best
ADM operates a global grain origination and transportation network that secures thin-margin commodities at scale. With a gross margin of 6.9%, its sheer physical infrastructure of ports, barges, and processing plants is nearly impossible for rivals to replicate quickly.
- The main risk
A CJ CheilJedang joint venture integration failure or amino acid market downturn threatens segment expansion. With revenue declining 6.1% to $82.1B, any supply chain disruption directly compresses already razor-thin operating margins of 2.3%.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin stands at 2.3% and FCF margin sits in the bottom quartile at the 14th percentile, reflecting ongoing compression. Scale does not yield high margins in this commodity-driven business.
ADM relies on a physical logistics network moat that locks in global agricultural producers and industrial buyers. Its operating margin sits in the sector's bottom decile at the 4th percentile, limiting true pricing power.
Revenue dropped 6.1% to $82.1B, sitting in the bottom decile of its sector at the 2nd percentile for growth. This top-line contraction is accelerating downward compared to historical annual revenue peaks above $101B.
Total debt sits at $8.4B against $1.0B in cash, while interest coverage of 3.2x leaves a narrow buffer for debt servicing. Free cash flow reached $1.7B, showing softening financial footing.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on ADM
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Archer Daniels Midland scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (2.7 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat weak, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 3, 2026, before the open.
See ADM today
- Today's verdict on ADM, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/adm/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.