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If you are wondering whether Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) is still offering value at today’s levels, this breakdown will help you see what the current share price really reflects.
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The stock last closed at US$69.73, with returns of 18.1% year to date and 57.5% over the past year, even though the 7 day and 30 day returns of 5.6% and 3.1% are negative.
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Recent headlines have focused on Archer-Daniels-Midland’s role in global food supply chains and its position in agricultural processing. This keeps attention on the stock when sentiment around food and commodity related names shifts, and these themes help frame how investors think about both upside potential and risks around the current price.
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Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has a valuation score of 3 out of 6. The sections that follow will walk through what that means using different valuation approaches, before finishing with a broader way to think about ADM’s valuation story over time.
A Discounted Cash Flow model projects a company’s future cash flows and then discounts them back to today’s value, so you can compare that estimate with the current share price.
For Archer-Daniels-Midland, the model used is a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach, based on cash flow projections. The latest twelve month free cash flow is about $4.12b. Analysts provide explicit forecasts out to 2027, including an estimate of $1.99b in free cash flow for 2027, and Simply Wall St extrapolates further, with projected free cash flow of about $2.18b in 2035. All these future values are discounted back into today’s dollars to arrive at an estimated intrinsic value per share of $94.74.
Compared with the recent share price of $69.73, the DCF output suggests Archer-Daniels-Midland is trading at a 26.4% discount to this intrinsic value. On this model, the stock appears undervalued.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Archer-Daniels-Midland is undervalued by 26.4%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 58 more high quality undervalued stocks.
For a profitable company like Archer-Daniels-Midland, the P/E ratio is a useful way to see how much you are paying for each dollar of earnings. It effectively reflects what the market is willing to pay today for those earnings, given its view of the business and its risks.
In general, stronger growth expectations and lower perceived risk tend to support a higher, or more generous, P/E ratio, while slower expected growth or higher risk usually align with a lower P/E. Archer-Daniels-Midland currently trades on a P/E of 31.17x. That compares with the Food industry average P/E of about 21.02x and a peer group average of 54.00x, so the stock sits above the sector but below peers on this metric.
Simply Wall St’s Fair Ratio for Archer-Daniels-Midland is 22.07x. This is a proprietary P/E level that reflects factors such as the company’s earnings growth profile, industry, profit margins, market cap and risk characteristics. Because it blends these fundamentals, it can give you a more tailored reference point than a simple comparison with peers or industry averages. Set against the current P/E of 31.17x, the Fair Ratio suggests Archer-Daniels-Midland is trading on a richer multiple than those fundamentals might support.
Result: OVERVALUED
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Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation. Narratives bring your view of Archer-Daniels-Midland together in one place by tying a simple story about the business to a set of revenue, earnings and margin assumptions. This is then turned into a Fair Value that you can compare with the current price on the Simply Wall St Community page. Because Narratives update when new news or earnings arrive, you can see in real time how different views line up. For example, one investor might lean toward a higher Fair Value of about US$77.00 based on faster growth and margin expansion, while another leans toward a lower Fair Value of about US$50.00 based on more conservative assumptions. This gives you a clear range of perspectives to test your own decision about whether the current price feels high, low or roughly in line with your expectations.
For Archer-Daniels-Midland, we will make it really easy for you with previews of two leading Archer-Daniels-Midland Narratives:
Each one ties a simple story about the business to explicit assumptions on revenue, margins, earnings and the P/E multiple that would need to apply, so you can quickly see which set of expectations is closer to your own.
🐂 Archer-Daniels-Midland Bull Case
Fair Value: US$77.00
Implied discount to this Fair Value: 9.5% based on the latest close of US$69.73
Assumed revenue growth: 14.35% a year
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Leans on faster expansion in higher margin areas such as enhanced nutrition, flavors, Specialty Ingredients and decarbonization projects to support revenue mix quality and earnings.
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Relies on analysts who expect revenues of about US$120.0b and earnings of US$2.3b by 2029, with profit margins rising from 1.3% to 1.9% and a P/E of 20.0x on those earnings.
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Frames the current market price as close to fair, with the bullish fair value only modestly above the latest share price. As a result, the gap rests more on confidence in execution than on a large pricing difference.
🐻 Archer-Daniels-Midland Bear Case
Fair Value: US$63.82
Implied premium to this Fair Value: 9.3% based on the latest close of US$69.73
Assumed revenue growth: 4.73% a year
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Builds in more modest revenue growth and higher profit margins of 2.3% by 2029, with earnings of US$2.1b and a P/E of 17.9x, and still lands below the current share price.
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Highlights risks from policy uncertainty around biofuels, softer volumes and margins in Ag Services and Carbohydrate Solutions, and ongoing compliance and reputational pressures.
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Suggests that even with business improvement, the current price already reflects optimistic expectations. Any setback on policy, commodities or execution could therefore pressure the multiple investors are willing to pay.
If you want to see how these stories are built line by line, including the full revenue, earnings and valuation paths, have a look at the underlying narratives, See what the community is saying about Archer-Daniels-Midland
Do you think there’s more to the story for Archer-Daniels-Midland? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Companies discussed in this article include ADM.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com




















