April 29th, 2026

The call conveyed a net positive operating and financial momentum: management raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance materially, reported strong adjusted EBIT growth (+62.8%), showed improving leverage and robust liquidity, and highlighted successful integration and synergy capture from Viterra. Offsetting negatives included a large reduction in reported EPS driven by mark-to-market timing and one-time integration costs, softness in Grain Merchandising & Milling and parts of Tropical Oils, and increased interest and working capital pressure amid macro/geopolitical uncertainty. On balance, the positive operational execution, guidance raise and balance sheet/liquidity strength outweigh the near-term headwinds and timing-related noise.

Company Guidance

Management raised full‑year adjusted EPS guidance to $9.00–$9.50 (up from $7.50–$8.00) after a strong Q1 (adjusted EPS $1.83; adjusted segment EBIT $661M), and set an expected 2026 cadence of ~40% of earnings in H1 / 60% in H2 (Q3/Q4 ~45%/55%); they now expect an adjusted annual effective tax rate of 22–26% (vs. 23–27%), net interest expense of $620–$660M (vs. $575–$625M), capital expenditures of $1.5–$1.7B and depreciation & amortization of ~ $975M. Liquidity and leverage metrics remain solid: adjusted net debt/EBITDA was 1.6x at quarter end (vs. 1.9x YE2025), readily marketable inventories exceeded net debt by ~ $400M, committed unused credit facilities were ~$9.7B and the $3B commercial paper program was essentially unutilized. Q1 cash flow and capital allocation included adjusted funds from operations of $530M, sustaining CapEx $95M, discretionary cash flow of $435M, $136M of dividends, ~$240M of growth/productivity CapEx, $105M for the IFF soy protein/lecithin acquisition and a net use of $47M; trailing‑12‑month metrics cited adjusted ROIC 8% (9% excluding CIPP/excess cash), ROIC 6.7% (7.2% adjusted), discretionary cash flow ≈ $1.35B and cash return on equity 9.1% vs. a 7.2% cost of equity.