Darling Ingredients Earns $267.0 Million In Third Quarter As Diamond Green Diesel Flips To Profit
The company cut net debt by about $420 million, bought back $75.9 million of stock and reaffirmed its $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion full-year outlook.
Darling Ingredients, which turns animal by-products, used cooking oil and bakery leftovers into ingredients and fuel feedstocks, reported third-quarter net income of $267.0 million, or $1.67 a diluted share, up from $19.4 million, or $0.12, a year earlier. The swing came mostly from its Diamond Green Diesel venture, which went from a loss to a profit, the company said Wednesday.
A $211 million swing at the diesel venture
Darling's equity income from Diamond Green Diesel, its renewable diesel joint venture with Valero Energy, was $165.6 million, against a $45.8 million loss in the third quarter of 2025. Darling's 50% share of the venture's adjusted EBITDA was $204.2 million, versus a negative $2.9 million a year ago.
Combined Adjusted EBITDA, the company's adjusted operating-profit measure that includes the venture's share, was $514.3 million, up from $244.9 million. Net sales rose to $1.8 billion from $1.6 billion.
The core segments also grew. Feed Ingredients adjusted EBITDA reached $247.7 million from $174.0 million, and Food Ingredients edged up to $73.8 million from $71.6 million, according to the earnings presentation. For the first nine months, net income was $788.6 million, against $5.9 million a year earlier.
The venture sold or shipped 314.9 million gallons of renewable fuels in the quarter, at adjusted EBITDA of $1.30 a gallon.
Cash in, debt down, shares bought
Darling received $171.0 million from the venture, made up of $33.4 million in dividends and $137.6 million from production tax credit sales. Net debt fell by about $420 million to $3.4 billion on Oct. 3, with total debt at $3.5 billion and $1.7 billion available on its revolving credit line.
The company repurchased $75.9 million of its stock in the quarter, bringing buybacks through the third quarter to $149.4 million. Its preliminary bank-covenant leverage ratio was 1.7X.
Chairman and CEO Randall C. Stuewe said the core business delivered "another quarter of exceptional performance."
Guidance holds at $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion
Darling reaffirmed 2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion. It expects to finish the year with net debt at or below $3.0 billion and leverage below 1.5X, and puts 2026 capital spending at about $450.0 million.
For the fourth quarter, the presentation estimates diesel venture production of about 325 million gallons. It says third-quarter results were held back by the timing of a sustainable aviation fuel shipment and a short hydrogen outage, effects expected to reverse.
Darling holds its earnings call Thursday at 9 a.m. Eastern.
The Thursday call is the first chance to hear management explain how the venture's margins hold into the fourth quarter.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. (DAR) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit exh991-pressreleaseq32026.htm — DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit dar3q2026earnings.htm — DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- Darling Ingredients Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results — Yahoo Finance
