ADM buys crops from farmers around the world and turns them into food ingredients, animal feed, fuels and industrial products. It buys, stores, ships and processes grains and oilseeds such as soybeans and corn, and makes items like vegetable oils, protein meals for livestock feed, sweeteners, starches, ethanol, flavors, colors and pet food ingredients. Its customers include food, beverage, feed, energy and industrial companies.
It reports three segments. Ag Services and Oilseeds handles crop trading, transport and storage and crushes oilseeds into oils and meals. Carbohydrate Solutions mills corn and wheat into sweeteners, starches, flour and ethanol. Nutrition makes ingredients and systems for people and animals. Soybeans made up 17% of 2025 revenue, corn 13% and soybean meal 11%. ADM also holds a 22.5% stake in Wilmar International, a Singapore-listed agribusiness group. It says it competes mainly on price, exchange rates, quality and global supply.
ADM spent $246 million on research and development in 2025. It owns trucks, rail cars, barges and ships to move its products, and buys raw materials from thousands of growers and merchants, mostly on short-term or spot terms.