Chicago-based commodity giant ADM released its Q1 2026 results on May 5, beating Wall Street estimates on earnings but missing on revenues, as the company projected strength in its crushing and ethanol business.
ADM generated $764 million in operating profit in Q1 2026, ending March 31, growing by 2% year-over-year. The commodity company’s ag services & oilseed (AS&O) profits revenues were $273 million, declining 34% year-over-year.
The ag services & oilseed declines were “due to net negative mark-to-market and timing impacts attributable to the strengthening commodity environment as a result of U.S. biofuels policy clarity,” ADM stated in its Q1 financial report.
Last month, the Trump administration used an emergency fuel waiver to boost ethanol blending to 15% (E15) this summer and removed restrictions on selling E10, as AgTechNavigator reported. The House-passed Farm Bill did not include a provision to have E15 year-round, despite industry support for the measure.
North American exports were higher, “which included increased shipments of soybeans and sorghum to China, and the continuation of a strong corn export program,” Juan Luciano, CEO, chairman, and president for ADM, said in the Q1 earnings call.
ADM expects “China will resume a normalized buying pattern for North American soybeans,” noted Monish Patolawala, CFO and Executive VP for ADM. Last year, China pulled back on purchasing U.S. soybeans in favor of Brazilian crops due to the Trump administration’s trade and tariff policy.
“Before the conflict, we were already seeing good margins for ethanol. I think that we have rough weather, in general, that affected some of these plants with the polar vortex in January. ... We had strong domestic demand, given by the tightening of the [Renewable Identification Numbers] and the values of the RINS,” Luciano elaborated.
The rest of ADM’s Q1 results
Elsewhere, ADM’s animal nutrition segment generated $31 million in operating profit, a 55% increase year-over-year. The increase was attributed to higher-margin products, cost optimizations, and foreign exchange gains, the company shared in its Q1 report.
ADM raised its full-year guidance, now expecting EPS guidance of $4.15-4.70 a share, compared to previous estimates of $3.60-4.25. ADM’s stock rose on the quarterly earnings, closing at $79.19, up 3.83% on the day. ADM’s stock has been on a steady rise over the year, increasing in value by 63.89%.
