Darling Ingredients (DAR) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 net sales rose 14.5% YoY to $1.791B; net income was $267.0M, or $1.67 per diluted share.

• Combined Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $514.3M from $244.9M; nine-month Combined Adjusted EBITDA was $1.663B versus $690.2M.

• Strong operating cash generation and DGD receipts supported a $420.3M Q3 net-debt reduction and continued share repurchases.

Financial highlights

• Q3 operating income was $333.3M versus $71.7M YoY; nine-month operating income was $1.115B versus $176.0M.

• Nine-month net income was $788.6M, or $4.91 per diluted share, versus $5.9M and $0.04; nine-month sales were $5.066B versus $4.426B.

• Q3 gross margin was $477.5M, or 26.7% of sales, versus $387.0M and 24.7% a year earlier.

• Q3 Adjusted EBITDA was $310.1M excluding DGD; Combined Adjusted EBITDA was $514.3M. Nine-month figures were $918.3M and $1.663B, respectively.

• Q3 results included a $63.5M gain on sale of businesses.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance reaffirmed at $2.2B–$2.3B; core business estimate was $1.25B ±$10M.

• Guidance assumes DGD capture of $1.50–$2 per gallon on 1.2B gallons; management described the outlook as conservative.

• Q4 DGD production is estimated at 325M gallons; strong Fuel margins are expected to continue into 2027.

• FY 2026 capex is estimated at $450M, with $343.5M spent year to date; remaining capex was estimated at $107M.

• Year-end net debt is expected at or below $3.0B, with leverage below 1.5x; FY 2026 tax rate expected near 25%.