Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR) stock analysis
Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $8.55BP/E 10.3Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Solid17 of 30 checks passed
Darling Ingredients passes 17 of the 30 checks behind our score; 5 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 6/6
- Growth
- 4/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 3/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 41.1% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $54.18 is below our fair value estimate of $91.92.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 11.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 685% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -26.7% a year.
What to watch
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.8% over the last twelve months and averaged 13.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
High debt
Debt is 65.0% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 26.7% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew -2.1% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
Valuation6/6
P/E below its 5-year median
Darling Ingredients's P/E of 10.3 is below its own 5-year median of 17.7.
P/E below the industry
Darling Ingredients's P/E of 10.3 is below the Food and Kindred Products median of 21.0.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Darling Ingredients's EV/EBITDA of 6.8 is below its 5-year median of 10.2.
P/B below the industry
Darling Ingredients's price-to-book of 1.59 is below the Food and Kindred Products median of 2.12.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $54.18 is below our fair value estimate of $91.92.
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 41.1% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Growth4/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew -2.1% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing under 10% a year
Diluted EPS grew -55.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 685% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -26.7% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 15.9% over the last twelve months; the Food and Kindred Products median is 2.7%.
Guidance raised
Darling Ingredients raised its fiscal year 2026 capital expenditures outlook on Jul 30, 2026.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 26.8% over the last twelve months, against 23.6% a year earlier.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.8% over the last twelve months and averaged 13.0% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 11.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Darling Ingredients's return on equity of 16.8% is above the Food and Kindred Products median of 6.6%.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 26.7% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 12.5% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 8.1%.
Net margin above the industry
Darling Ingredients's net margin of 12.5% is above the Food and Kindred Products median of 2.7%.
Financial health3/6
High debt
Debt is 65.0% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt rising against equity
Debt to equity rose from 52.1% five years ago to 65.0%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 45.5% of total debt.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 5.6 times.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 1.42 times current liabilities.
Bankruptcy risk in the grey zone
The Altman Z-score is 2.67; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Darling Ingredients has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$91.92
The share price is 41% below this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 19.3× | 17.7× | 21.0× | $101.59 | 40% |
| EV/EBITDA | 11.8× | 10.2× | 13.5× | $109.62 | 35% |
| P/B | 2.0× | 1.8× | 2.1× | $67.13 | 10% |
| Earnings power | 8.1% cost of equity | – | – | $41.36 | 15% |
| Fair value | $91.92 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 17.7
- Food and Kindred Products median 21.0
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $137.81M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $75.78M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 14.0%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 34%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 1.81
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.64
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +7.4% | -2.1% | +11.4% | +6.1% | |
| Gross profit | +15.3% | -1.2% | +10.8% | +7.2% | |
| Operating income | -41.6% | -35.7% | -8.7% | +6.7% | |
| Net income | -77.5% | -56.0% | -26.7% | -2.2% | |
| EPS, diluted | -77.5% | -55.7% | -26.2% | -2.1% | |
| Free cash flow | +34.0% | +17.2% | +14.5% | +13.5% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 5.3% | 10.9% | 1.4% | |
| Return on assets | 2.2% | 5.4% | 0.6% | |
| Current ratio | 1.98 | 1.46 | 1.50 | |
| Debt to equity | 0.89 | 0.52 | 0.83 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 3.68× | 1.83× | 4.92× | |
| Interest coverage | 1.6× | 5.9× | 1.2× | |
| Inventory turnover | 7.8× | 7.0× | 8.4× | |
| Capex to revenue | 7.2% | 7.8% | 6.2% | |
| Diluted shares | 165M | 167M | 160M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Darling Ingredients generated $4.32B from operations and spent $2.35B on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 82% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 1.0% | 0.60× | 2.23× | 1.4% |
| FY2024 | 4.9% | 0.54× | 2.35× | 6.2% |
| FY2023 | 9.5% | 0.67× | 2.41× | 15.4% |
| FY2022 | 11.3% | 0.85× | 2.16× | 20.8% |
| FY2021 | 13.7% | 0.81× | 1.90× | 21.1% |
| FY2020 | 8.3% | 0.65× | 2.01× | 10.9% |
| FY2019 | 9.3% | 0.66× | 2.12× | 12.9% |
| FY2018 | 3.0% | 0.69× | 2.18× | 4.5% |
| FY2017 | 3.5% | 0.76× | 2.29× | 6.1% |
| FY2016 | 3.0% | 0.72× | 2.46× | 5.3% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$62.80M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$1.06B
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year2.5% → 0.6%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$1.06B vs $62.80M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell38.8% → 37.5%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.38 → 1.50
- No dilutionShare count did not rise161M → 160M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year22.36% → 24.01%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose0.52 → 0.61
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