Ingredion (INGR)
NYSE:INGR
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Ingredion
(NYSE:INGR)
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Rating:69Neutral
Price Target:
$120.00
▲(7.04% Upside)
Action:DowngradedDate:03/23/26
The score is driven primarily by improving profitability and de-leveraging, plus attractive valuation (low P/E and ~3% yield). This is tempered by clear technical weakness (trading below key moving averages) and earnings-call risks centered on near-term 2026 pressure and ongoing Argo operational disruptions, despite guidance for modest full-year growth.
Positive Factors
Margin Expansion & Profitability
Sustained margin expansion and record operating income reflect durable improvements in mix and operational efficiency, which support resilient earnings power even with revenue pressure. Higher margins bolster free cash flow, funding reinvestment, dividends, and buybacks over multiple years.
Negative Factors
Top-line Decline & Volume Weakness
Consecutive revenue declines undermine the quality of earnings and limit operational leverage. Persistent soft volumes in beverage sweeteners and brewing adjuncts reduce pricing power and compress the ability to sustainably grow sales, making earnings gains reliant on margins and cost cuts.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Margin Expansion & Profitability
Sustained margin expansion and record operating income reflect durable improvements in mix and operational efficiency, which support resilient earnings power even with revenue pressure. Higher margins bolster free cash flow, funding reinvestment, dividends, and buybacks over multiple years.
Read all positive factors
Ingredion (INGR) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$7.06B
Dividend Yield2.86%
Average Volume (3M)665.97K
Price to Earnings (P/E)9.7
Beta (1Y)0.36
Revenue Growth-3.83%
EPS Growth-2.04%
CountryUS
Employees11,000
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryPackaged Foods
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.53
Shares Outstanding62,945,040
10 Day Avg. Volume838,415
30 Day Avg. Volume665,970
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.65
Price to Book (P/B)1.63
Price to Sales (P/S)0.98
P/FCF Ratio13.85
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.12
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.09
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.31
Enterprise Value/Ebitda6.39
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$119.00Price Target Upside6.15% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)11.33
Revenue Forecast (FY)$7.36B
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 compa...
How the Company Makes Money
Ingredion makes money by manufacturing and selling ingredient products to business customers (primarily food and beverage manufacturers) and, to a lesser extent, to industrial and other end markets. Revenue is generated mainly from (1) specialty i...
Ingredion Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Breaks sales down by product line or region to show where growth is coming from and how reliant the company is on specific markets or products. For retail investors, this helps spot fast-growing specialty businesses versus mature, commodity-exposed lines and assess diversification, seasonal patterns, and geographic risk exposure.
Breaks sales down by product line or region to show where growth is coming from and how reliant the company is on specific markets or products. For retail investors, this helps spot fast-growing specialty businesses versus mature, commodity-exposed lines and assess diversification, seasonal patterns, and geographic risk exposure.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyIngredion Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 03, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed a generally positive outlook driven by record full-year operating income, margin expansion, strong cash generation, notable growth in Texture & Healthful Solutions (including >40% growth in protein fortification) and exceeded cost-savings targets. These positives were tempered by meaningful operational issues at the Argo facility that cost ~$40 million in 2025, soft volumes in beverage sweeteners and brewing adjuncts, price/mix headwinds in some geographies and near-term Q1 2026 pressure. Overall the company demonstrated resilience and multiple durable growth drivers but faces a clear set of operational and category headwinds that management expects to work through in 2026.Positive Updates
Record Full-Year Operating Income and EPS Growth
Full year reported operating income of $1.016 billion and adjusted operating income of $1.028 billion; gross profit dollars increased 2% and full-year gross margin expanded to 25.3%. Adjusted diluted EPS increased ~4.5% year-over-year.
Negative Updates
Overall Net Sales Decline
Q4 net sales were $1.8 billion, down 2% versus prior year; full-year net sales were $7.2 billion, down 3% versus prior year. FY net sales headwinds included $144 million lower price/mix and $75 million lower volume, partially offset by $8–36 million favorable FX in bridges cited.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Full-Year Operating Income and EPS Growth
Full year reported operating income of $1.016 billion and adjusted operating income of $1.028 billion; gross profit dollars increased 2% and full-year gross margin expanded to 25.3%. Adjusted diluted EPS increased ~4.5% year-over-year.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Ingredion's 2026 guidance calls for full-year net sales to be up low-single to mid-single digits and reported and adjusted operating income to be up low-single digits, with financing costs of $40–50 million, an effective tax rate of 25.5%–27%, adjusted EPS of $11.00–$11.80 (based on a 64–65 million share count), cash from operations of $820–940 million and capital expenditures of $400–440 million; the outlook assumes tariff levels as of end‑January 2026 and excludes acquisition‑related integration/restructuring and potential impairment costs. By segment, Texture & Healthful Solutions is expected to deliver net sales and operating income growth of low‑ to mid‑single digits; Food & Industrial Ingredients LatAm is guided to net sales up low‑ to mid‑single digits with operating profit flat to up low‑single digits (noting FX transactional headwinds in Mexico); Food & Industrial Ingredients U.S./Canada is expected to be generally flat in net sales and operating income; and All Other businesses are expected to see net sales up high‑single digits with operating income up $5–10 million. For Q1 2026 management expects net sales down low‑single digits and operating income down mid‑double digits, driven in part by ongoing Argo operational challenges (Argo impacted 2025 operating income by ~ $40 million, ~ $16 million in Q4; management cited an expected additional ~$10–15 million impact in Q1 with partial recovery returning in the back half of the year).Ingredion Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
70
Positive
| 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 | 4.34B | 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
Negative
112.11
Price Trends
115.34
Negative
112.14
Negative
119.11
Negative
Market Momentum
-1.23
Negative
46.89
Neutral
55.40
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For INGR, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 112.11 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 112.26, below the 50-day MA of 115.34, and below the 200-day MA of 119.11, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -1.23 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 46.89 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 55.40 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for INGR.
Ingredion Risk Analysis
Ingredion disclosed 26 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Ingredion 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
Ingredion Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $8.72B | 8.73 | 30.72% | ― | 1.81% | 24.67% | |
69 Neutral | $7.06B | 9.71 | 17.25% | 2.86% | -3.83% | -2.04% | |
64 Neutral | $9.40B | 94.10 | 1.36% | ― | -0.83% | -58.55% | |
64 Neutral | $1.52B | 491.43 | 6.48% | 3.53% | 0.54% | -24.42% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
61 Neutral | $4.59B | 13.23 | 8.49% | ― | 2.97% | -2.68% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
INGR
Ingredion
112.11
-19.62
-14.90%
DAR
Darling Ingredients
59.28
28.04
89.76%
JJSF
J & J Snack Foods
79.84
-47.62
-37.36%
PPC
Pilgrim's Pride
36.72
-9.46
-20.49%
POST
Post Holdings
95.70
-20.66
-17.76%
Ingredion Corporate Events
Executive/Board Changes
Ingredion announces board retirement and new director appointment
Positive
Mar 23, 2026
On March 20, 2026, long-serving board member Gregory B. Kenny informed Ingredion that he would retire from its Board of Directors effective March 23, 2026, after serving since 2005, and the company stated that his decision was not due to any disag...
Executive/Board Changes
Ingredion Names CEO James Zallie as Board Chairman
Neutral
Feb 11, 2026
On February 9, 2026, Ingredion’s board appointed President and CEO James P. Zallie as chairman, consolidating the roles of chief executive and board leader at the ingredients maker. The move marks a leadership transition at the board level, ...
Executive/Board Changes
Ingredion CFO James Gray Announces Planned Retirement
Neutral
Jan 27, 2026
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 depar...
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.