Ingredion (INGR) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $7.45B
• Dividend Yield: 2.86%
• Average Volume (3M): 464.86K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 10.5
• Beta (1Y): 0.35
• Revenue Growth: -3.83%
• EPS Growth: -2.04%
• Country: US
• Employees: 11,000
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Sector Strength: 42
• Industry: Packaged Foods
• EPS (TTM): 2.53
• Shares Outstanding: 63,530,136
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 627,663
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 464,864
• PEG Ratio: -5.57
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.83
• Price to Sales (P/S): 1.06
• P/FCF Ratio: 9.16
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.16
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.19
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 4.71
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 7.32
• 1Y Price Target: $124.25
• Price Target Upside: 3.19% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 4
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 74 Outperform
• Price Target: $135.00 ▲(12.12% Upside)

The score is driven primarily by strengthening financial fundamentals (higher profitability and lower leverage) and attractive valuation (low P/E with a solid dividend). These positives are tempered by declining revenue and uneven cash flow, plus near-term operational headwinds highlighted on the earnings call and technically overextended momentum.

Positive Factors

Margin & Profitability Expansion

Ingredient margins and operating income expanded to record levels, reflecting structural improvement in cost control and pricing. Durable margin expansion supports ongoing reinvestment, dividend increases and buybacks, and makes earnings less sensitive to modest top-line weakness over the medium term.

Deleveraging & Stronger Balance Sheet

Meaningful debt reduction improves financial flexibility and lowers financing risk, enabling stable capital allocation for capex, dividends and share repurchases. Stronger equity and lower leverage provide resilience against cyclical demand or commodity cost swings over the next 2–6 months.

Higher‑value Solutions Growth

Rapid expansion in Texture & Healthful Solutions and protein fortification shows successful shift toward higher‑margin, value‑added products. Sustained volume growth and improved ASPs signal durable structural demand and higher margin mix that can underpin earnings quality going forward.

Negative Factors

Declining Revenue Trend

Two consecutive years of declining sales limit the quality of profit gains and indicate structural demand headwinds in key categories (beverage sweeteners, brewing adjuncts). Without sustained top-line stabilization, margin gains may be vulnerable to volume shortfalls over the medium term.

Operational Risk at Argo Facility

Material production issues at a core U.S. facility reduced yields and raised maintenance costs, creating a recurring drag on segment results. Persistent reliability problems can constrain volumes, raise unit costs and delay full recovery of margins for several quarters, weakening operational consistency.

Volatile Free Cash Flow

Significant FCF decline and historical swings (including negative FCF in 2022) reduce predictability of internal funding for capex, dividends and buybacks. Inconsistent cash conversion increases reliance on steady margins and balance-sheet flexibility to sustain capital returns and strategic investments.

Ingredion Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells starches and sweeteners for various industries. It operates through four segments: North America; South America; Asia-Pacific; and Europe, Middle East and Africa. The company offers sweetener products comprising glucose syrups, high maltose syrups, high fructose corn syrups, caramel colors, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrins, and glucose syrup solids, as well as food-grade and industrial starches, biomaterials, and nutrition ingredients. It also provides edible corn oil; refined corn oil to packers of cooking oil and to producers of margarine, salad dressings, shortening, mayonnaise, and other foods; and corn gluten feed used as protein feed for chickens, pet food, and aquaculture, as well as fruit and vegetable products, such as concentrates, purees and essences, pulse proteins, and hydrocolloids systems and blends. The company's products are derived primarily from processing corn and other starch-based materials, such as tapioca, potato, and rice. It serves food, beverage, brewing, and animal nutrition industries. The company was formerly known as Corn Products International, Inc. and changed its name to Ingredion Incorporated in June 2012. Ingredion Incorporated was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.

How the Company Makes Money

Ingredion generates revenue primarily through the sale of its diverse range of ingredient solutions, which include starches, sweeteners, and specialty ingredients. The company operates in several key markets, including food and beverage, where it provides ingredients that enhance texture and flavor, as well as improve nutritional profiles. Its revenue model is driven by the demand for high-quality, functional ingredients from manufacturers in various sectors. Ingredion also partners with food and beverage companies to develop customized solutions, which can lead to long-term contracts and recurring revenue. Additionally, its global footprint allows it to benefit from economies of scale and leverage local market insights to optimize pricing strategies. The company continually invests in research and development to innovate new products, contributing to its revenue growth and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Ingredion Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Profitability and balance-sheet strength are improving (higher net income, margin expansion, and meaningful debt reduction), supported by solid operating cash flow in 2023–2024. Offsetting this, revenue has been declining (2024 and 2025) and free cash flow fell sharply in 2025, creating questions about durability and consistency.

Income Statement

Profitability has improved meaningfully over the cycle, with net income rising from $117M (2021) to $647M (2024) and $729M (2025), alongside stronger operating profit and margin expansion versus 2021–2022 levels. However, top-line momentum is a clear headwind: revenue declined in 2024 (-8.9%) and again in 2025 (down to $7.219B), which limits the quality of the earnings improvement and raises questions about sustainable growth.

Balance Sheet

Leverage is moving in the right direction, with total debt declining from $2.677B (2022) to $2.035B (2024) and $1.790B (2025), while equity has grown to $4.274B (2025). The 2024 debt-to-equity level (~0.53) looks reasonable for the industry and supports financial flexibility. The main watch item is that total assets have not expanded much, suggesting balance-sheet strengthening is coming more from de-levering and retained earnings than from growth investments.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally solid, with operating cash flow at $1.436B (2024) and free cash flow at $1.135B (2024), indicating strong conversion in a normal year. That said, cash flow has been volatile: 2022 saw weak operating cash flow ($152M) and negative free cash flow (-$148M), and 2025 free cash flow fell sharply to $511M (down ~39% vs. 2024). Overall, the business can generate strong cash, but consistency is a concern.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	7.22B	7.43B	8.16B	7.95B	6.89B
Gross Profit	1.83B	1.79B	1.75B	1.49B	1.33B
EBITDA	1.23B	1.18B	1.17B	982.00M	542.00M
Net Income	729.00M	647.00M	643.00M	492.00M	117.00M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	7.90B	7.44B	7.64B	7.56B	7.00B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	1.03B	1.01B	409.00M	239.00M	332.00M
Total Debt	1.79B	2.04B	2.40B	2.68B	2.25B
Total Liabilities	3.53B	3.55B	3.99B	4.30B	3.77B
Stockholders Equity	4.27B	3.86B	3.59B	3.19B	3.14B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	511.00M	1.14B	741.00M	-148.00M	92.00M
Operating Cash Flow	944.00M	1.44B	1.06B	152.00M	392.00M
Investing Cash Flow	-444.00M	-47.00M	-329.00M	-320.00M	-335.00M
Financing Cash Flow	-491.00M	-765.00M	-569.00M	103.00M	-373.00M

Ingredion Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 120.41
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For INGR, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 120.41 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 115.41, above the 50-day MA of 111.39, and below the 200-day MA of 122.49, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 1.98 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 73.21 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 83.12 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for INGR.

Ingredion Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
INGR	74 Outperform	$7.45B	10.49	18.05%	2.86%	-3.83%	-2.04%
PPC	73 Outperform	$10.38B	8.46	31.76%	―	1.81%	24.67%
DAR	69 Neutral	$7.49B	71.63	2.33%	―	-0.83%	-58.55%
POST	64 Neutral	$5.23B	18.69	8.56%	―	2.97%	-2.68%
JJSF	63 Neutral	$1.81B	30.33	6.60%	3.53%	0.54%	-24.42%
Sector *	62 Neutral	$20.33B	14.63	-3.31%	3.23%	1.93%	-12.26%

Ingredion Corporate Events

Ingredion CFO James Gray Announces Planned Retirement

Ingredion Incorporated announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer James Gray notified the company on January 26, 2026, that he will retire from his roles effective March 31, 2026. The company stated that Gray’s departure is not due to any dispute or disagreement, and it is currently reviewing its succession plan with the intention of naming a new chief financial officer upon his retirement, signaling an orderly transition in its financial leadership for stakeholders.

The most recent analyst rating on (INGR) stock is a Hold with a $124.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Ingredion stock, see the INGR Stock Forecast page.

Ingredion Approves New Stock Repurchase Program

On November 3, 2025, Ingredion‘s Board of Directors terminated its existing stock repurchase program and approved a new one, allowing the purchase of up to 8 million shares from November 4, 2025, through December 31, 2028. This move provides the company with flexibility in managing its capital structure, although it is not obligated to repurchase any shares and can modify the program at any time.

The most recent analyst rating on (INGR) stock is a Buy with a $168.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Ingredion stock, see the INGR Stock Forecast page.