Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

Company Performance - Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) closed at $51.67, with a slight increase of +0.02% from the previous day, underperforming compared to the S&P 500's gain of 0.53% [1] - Over the last month, ADM's shares increased by 2.26%, outperforming the Consumer Staples sector's decline of 0.69% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.24% [1] Upcoming Earnings Report - ADM is scheduled to release its earnings on February 4, 2025, with projected EPS of $1.07, indicating a 21.32% decrease compared to the same quarter last year [2] - The consensus estimate for revenue is $21.93 billion, reflecting a 4.58% decline from the same quarter last year [2] Analyst Estimates and Revisions - Recent changes to analyst estimates for ADM are important as they indicate shifts in near-term business trends [3] - Upward revisions in estimates suggest analysts' positive outlook on the company's operations and profit generation capabilities [3] Zacks Rank and Valuation - The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), currently ranks ADM as 3 (Hold) [5] - ADM's Forward P/E ratio is 11.24, which is lower than the industry average Forward P/E of 12.67, indicating a valuation discount [6] Industry Context - The Agriculture - Operations industry, part of the Consumer Staples sector, has a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, placing it in the top 36% of over 250 industries [6] - The Zacks Industry Rank measures the strength of industry groups based on the average Zacks Rank of individual stocks, with top-rated industries outperforming lower-rated ones by a factor of 2 to 1 [7]