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Here's How Archer Daniels (ADM) is Poised Ahead of Q1 Earnings

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Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) is slated to report first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 30, before market open. The company is likely to report top and bottom-line declines when it posts first-quarter 2024 results.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s quarterly earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, which suggests a decline of 35.4% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark has remained stable in the past 30 days. For first-quarter 2024 revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at $22.4 billion, indicating a 7% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a negative earnings surprise of 4.2%. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 11.4%.

Key Factors to Note

Archer Daniels is exposed to headwinds, including higher performance-related compensation, project-related costs and shifting costs from business segments into the centralized centers of excellence in the supply chain and operations. These headwinds are likely to have contributed to the rise in SG&A expenses in the to-be-reported quarter. As a percentage of sales, we expect SG&A expenses to have increased 30 basis points to 4% in the first quarter.

The company is also not immune to the global impacts of inflation. This is likely to have impacted its first-quarter performance. We note that the company has also been grappling with sluggish performance in its Nutrition segment.

On its last earnings call, management had projected the segment’s results to decrease year over year in the first quarter, owing to headwinds from a normalizing texturants market, fixed costs related to the operational challenges stemming from the Decatur East and protein volumes. We expect the Nutrition segment’s revenues to have dropped 2% year over year in the first quarter.

For Ag Services & Oilseeds, the company anticipates the first-quarter results to be lower compared with the earlier periods as higher global commodity supply and normalization of margins might have hurt the segment. For Carbohydrate Solutions, it projects first-quarter results to be lower than the prior-year level. We expect the Ag Services & Oilseeds and Carbohydrate Solutions segments’ revenues to have declined 7.9% and 9.1%, respectively, year over year.

Nonetheless, Archer Daniels’ productivity initiatives and product innovations appear encouraging. The company has been significantly progressing on its three strategic pillars — optimize, drive and growth. Gains from these efforts are likely to have provided some cushion to the the quarterly performance.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Archer Daniels this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Archer Daniels currently has an Earnings ESP of -0.61% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some companies, which according to our model, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Vital Farms (VITL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.75% and a Zacks Rank of 2. VITL is anticipated to register top and bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vital Farms’ quarterly revenues is pegged at $137 million, indicating growth of 15% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Vital Farms’ earnings has moved up a couple of cents in the past 30 days to 22 cents per share. The consensus estimate suggests 37.5% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. VITL has delivered an earnings beat of 155.4%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Church & Dwight Co. (CHD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.25% and a Zacks Rank of 3, at present. CHD is likely to register top and bottom-line growth when it releases first-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.49 billion, which suggests growth of 4.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for Church & Dwight’s quarterly earnings has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at 86 cents per share, suggesting growth of 1.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. CHD has delivered an earnings surprise of 9.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.77% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is anticipated to register top and bottom-line growth in first-quarter fiscal 2024. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OLLI’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $503.8 million, suggesting growth of 9.7% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for Ollie's quarterly earnings has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at 65 cents per share, suggesting 32.7% growth from the year-ago quarter's reported number. OLLI delivered an earnings surprise of 7.3%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.


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