Darling Ingredients (DAR)
NYSE:DAR
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Darling Ingredients
(NYSE:DAR)
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Rating:64Neutral
Price Target:
$66.00
▲(7.47% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/04/26
The score is anchored by solid cash-flow strength and improving operating momentum in core ingredients, tempered by a major profitability compression and elevated (though improving) leverage. Technically the trend is strong but looks overheated, while valuation is a key constraint due to the very high P/E and lack of a dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Cash Generation
Consistently strong operating cash flow and a large, rapidly growing free cash flow base provide durable capacity to service debt, fund bolt-on M&A (e.g., Potense bid), invest in capex and innovation, and withstand cyclical pressure in fuel markets without immediate equity raises.
Negative Factors
Margin compression
Sharp fall in net margins and ROE signals weakened earnings power despite revenue growth. If margins remain compressed, the company will generate far lower returns on capital, limiting reinvestment upside and making cash flow more sensitive to commodity and policy swings.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Cash Generation
Consistently strong operating cash flow and a large, rapidly growing free cash flow base provide durable capacity to service debt, fund bolt-on M&A (e.g., Potense bid), invest in capex and innovation, and withstand cyclical pressure in fuel markets without immediate equity raises.
Read all positive factors
Darling Ingredients (DAR) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$9.73B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)3.29M
Price to Earnings (P/E)94.1
Beta (1Y)0.68
Revenue Growth-0.83%
EPS Growth-58.55%
CountryUS
Employees15,500
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryPackaged Foods
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.35
Shares Outstanding158,729,220
10 Day Avg. Volume3,167,090
30 Day Avg. Volume3,285,723
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-1.22
Price to Book (P/B)1.25
Price to Sales (P/S)0.96
P/FCF Ratio8.70
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.39
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.21
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit11.19
Enterprise Value/Ebitda16.38
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$66.78Price Target Upside8.74% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering9
EPS Forecast (FY)3.24
Revenue Forecast (FY)$6.57B
Darling Ingredients Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Darling Ingredients Inc. develops, produces, and sells natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients. The company operates through three segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients. It offers ingredients and cus...
How the Company Makes Money
Darling Ingredients makes money by procuring low-value or negative-cost organic raw materials (e.g., animal by-products from meat processing, bakery/food residuals, and used cooking oil) and converting them through rendering, refining, hydrolysis,...
Darling Ingredients Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Darling Ingredients Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 11, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 12, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call communicated clear operational and commercial progress across Darling's core ingredients (Feed and Food) with meaningful year-over-year EBITDA, sales and margin improvements, improved leverage and liquidity, and strategic actions (Brazil asset bid and Food JV). Offsetting these positives were substantial headwinds in the Fuel segment for the year, DGD-related accounting/cash volatility, restructuring charges, and continued policy uncertainty (RVO/LCFS) that materially influence future fuel economics. Management is optimistic about 2026 if policy clarity emerges and expects DGD margins and production to improve, while prioritizing debt reduction and selected bolt-on opportunities.Positive Updates
Quarterly and Yearly EBITDA Momentum
Combined adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $336.1M versus $289.0M in Q4 2024 (+16.3%) and $245.0M last quarter; core ingredients EBITDA for Q4 was $278.2M versus $230.0M in Q4 2024 (+21.0%). For fiscal year 2025, core ingredients EBITDA was $922M versus $790M in 2024 (+16.7%).
Negative Updates
Fuel Segment Yearly Earnings Decline
Combined Fuel segment adjusted EBITDA (including DGD) for fiscal 2025 was $192M versus $374M a year ago, a decline of ~48.7%, reflecting a challenging year for the biofuels environment despite a stronger Q4.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Quarterly and Yearly EBITDA Momentum
Combined adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $336.1M versus $289.0M in Q4 2024 (+16.3%) and $245.0M last quarter; core ingredients EBITDA for Q4 was $278.2M versus $230.0M in Q4 2024 (+21.0%). For fiscal year 2025, core ingredients EBITDA was $922M versus $790M in 2024 (+16.7%).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management's forward-looking commentary for Q1 2026 called for core ingredients adjusted EBITDA of roughly $240–$250 million (versus core ingredients Q4 EBITDA of ~ $278M and full‑year 2025 core EBITDA of ~$922M), and they expect Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) to produce about 260 million gallons in Q1 at improved margins (they are not formally guiding DGD EBITDA until after final RVO clarity). They warned only a modest pullback versus Q4 due to winter seasonality and lower fat prices, said they will reconsider providing DGD guidance after the RVO ruling, and expect to fund the ~$120M Potense Brazil asset purchase with Q1 cash flows; other pertinent metrics called out on the call included Q4 combined adjusted EBITDA of ~ $336M, FY‑2025 DGD sold ~1.0 billion gallons with DGD entity EBITDA of ~ $1.04B (Darling’s share ~ $104M; Q4 DGD EBITDA ~ $58M or ~$0.41/gal), Darling’s contributions to DGD of ~$328M in 2025 offset by ~$368M of dividends received (including ~$285M of production tax credit sales), year‑end net debt of ~ $3.8B, a preliminary covenant leverage ratio of 2.9x, and ~ $1.3B available on the revolving credit facility.Darling Ingredients Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
56
Neutral
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 6.14B | 5.72B | 6.79B | 6.53B | 4.74B |
| Gross Profit | 964.95M | 1.28B | 1.65B | 1.53B | 1.24B |
| EBITDA | 922.30M | 1.01B | 1.48B | 1.41B | 1.20B |
| Net Income | 62.80M | 278.88M | 647.73M | 737.69M | 650.91M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 10.30B | 10.07B | 11.06B | 9.20B | 6.13B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 88.67M | 75.97M | 126.50M | 127.02M | 68.91M |
| Total Debt | 4.16B | 4.26B | 4.64B | 3.58B | 1.62B |
| Total Liabilities | 5.49B | 5.61B | 6.37B | 5.31B | 2.79B |
| Stockholders Equity | 4.74B | 4.38B | 4.61B | 3.81B | 3.28B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 679.23M | 506.81M | 342.26M | 420.94M | 430.02M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 1.06B | 839.29M | 899.26M | 813.74M | 704.42M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -720.28M | -498.90M | -1.68B | -2.42B | -490.26M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -337.89M | -399.56M | 876.29M | 1.68B | -221.36M |
Darling Ingredients Technical Analysis
Positive
61.41
Price Trends
54.72
Positive
46.04
Positive
39.62
Positive
Market Momentum
2.45
Positive
63.40
Neutral
47.58
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For DAR, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 61.41 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 59.80, above the 50-day MA of 54.72, and above the 200-day MA of 39.62, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.45 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 63.40 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 47.58 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for DAR.
Darling Ingredients Risk Analysis
Darling Ingredients disclosed 51 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Darling Ingredients reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Darling Ingredients Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $8.42B | 8.73 | 30.72% | ― | 1.81% | 24.67% | |
69 Neutral | $7.22B | 9.71 | 17.25% | 2.86% | -3.83% | -2.04% | |
64 Neutral | $9.73B | 94.10 | 1.36% | ― | -0.83% | -58.55% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
57 Neutral | $1.76B | 18.24 | -47.89% | ― | 16.05% | -10.17% | |
52 Neutral | $5.83B | 30.39 | 16.90% | 3.37% | 2.35% | 9.61% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
DAR
Darling Ingredients
59.60
30.09
101.97%
PPC
Pilgrim's Pride
35.09
-15.86
-31.13%
INGR
Ingredion
113.03
-13.63
-10.76%
LW
Lamb Weston Holdings
43.73
-9.40
-17.69%
BRBR
BellRing Brands
15.47
-60.11
-79.53%
Darling Ingredients Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Darling Ingredients Announces Board Transition and New Director
Positive
Feb 25, 2026
On February 25, 2026, Darling Ingredients announced that long-time director Gary W. Mize plans to retire from its board at the company’s 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, where he will step down as Lead Director and Chairman of the Nomina...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.