Darling Q3 EPS $1.67 as Combined Adjusted EBITDA Doubles to $514.3M; FY26 Guidance Reaffirmed
DAR sits 76% above its 52-week low of $31.48.
Summary
Darling reported Q3 2026 net income of $267.0 million ($1.67 per diluted share) versus $19.4 million a year ago, with Combined Adjusted EBITDA of $514.3 million, roughly $420 million of net debt reduction and $75.9 million of buybacks; FY2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2-$2.3 billion was reaffirmed.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · DAR
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Q3 Earnings More Than Double
Net income attributable to Darling was $267.0 million, or $1.67 per diluted share, versus $19.4 million ($0.12) in Q3 2025; total net sales rose to $1.8 billion from $1.6 billion.
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Combined Adjusted EBITDA Doubles
Combined Adjusted EBITDA reached $514.3 million versus $244.9 million a year ago, with DGD contributing $204.2 million on Darling's 50% share and Global Ingredients $310.1 million.
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Net Debt Cut by $420 Million
Net debt fell to $3.37 billion and the preliminary leverage ratio to 1.7X from 2.9X at January 3, 2026; management targets net debt at or below $3.0 billion and leverage below 1.5X at year-end.
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FY26 Guidance Reaffirmed
FY2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2-$2.3 billion was reaffirmed against $1.66 billion booked through nine months, implying a strong Q4.
Analysis · DAR · Manufacturing
Darling's third quarter marked a step-change rather than an increment: net income attributable to Darling jumped to $267.0 million ($1.67 per diluted share) from $19.4 million ($0.12) a year ago, and Combined Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $514.3 million from $244.9 million. The cash engine is Diamond Green Diesel, which paid out $171.0 million to Darling in the quarter ($33.4 million dividends plus $137.6 million of Production Tax Credit sales) and contributed $204.2 million of Adjusted EBITDA on Darling's 50% share. That cash went straight to the balance sheet: net debt fell about $420 million to $3.37 billion and the preliminary bank-covenant leverage ratio dropped to 1.7X from 2.9X at the start of the year, with management targeting net debt at or below $3.0 billion and leverage below 1.5X by year-end. FY2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2-$2.3 billion was reaffirmed, which implies a heavy Q4 given $1.66 billion booked through nine months. The offset is that the beat is concentrated in the Fuel segment and tied to RIN and biofuel policy support; Feed EBITDA of $247.7 million was dampened by deferred-profit accounting on sales to DGD that management says reverses in Q4, and Food faces U.S. tariffs on Brazilian collagen. The $75.9 million of buybacks in the quarter ($149.4 million year-to-date) under the previously authorized $1 billion program is real capital return, not a new authorization.
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At the time of this filing, DAR was trading at $55.46 on NYSE in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.8B. The 52-week trading range was $31.48 to $69.98. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.