Darling Ingredients Reaffirms Fiscal 2026 EBITDA Range

The Tip Desk · November 1, 2026 · 3 min read

Combined Adjusted EBITDA was $514.3 million in the third quarter, up from $244.9 million a year earlier, as Diamond Green Diesel swung to profit.

Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR) reported net income attributable to Darling of $267.0 million, or $1.67 a share, for the three months ended Oct. 3, 2026, compared with $19.4 million, or $0.12 a share, a year earlier.

The circular-economy processor said total net sales were $1.8 billion, compared with $1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Combined Adjusted EBITDA was $514.3 million, compared with $244.9 million a year earlier.

The swing in profit tracked Diamond Green Diesel. Equity in net income of the 50/50 renewable-fuels joint venture was $165.6 million, versus a $45.8 million equity loss a year earlier. DGD sold or shipped 314.9 million gallons of renewable fuels in the three months ended Sept. 30, 2026. On a stand-alone basis Darling determined DGD Adjusted EBITDA of $1.30 a gallon for that period. Darling’s share of DGD Adjusted EBITDA was $204.2 million, versus a $2.9 million loss a year earlier.

The company received about $33.4 million in dividends and about $137.6 million from Production Tax Credit sales from DGD in the third quarter, for $171.0 million in cash distributions.

Feed Ingredients, the largest reportable segment, posted total net sales of $1.21 billion and Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $247.7 million. Food Ingredients sales were $415.8 million with Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $73.8 million. Fuel Ingredients sales were $168.6 million; Combined Adjusted EBITDA for that segment, which includes Darling’s share of DGD, was $227.9 million.

Operating income was $333.3 million, compared with $71.7 million a year earlier. A $63.5 million gain on sale of businesses also sat in other income.

As of Oct. 3, 2026, Darling had $121.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $1.7 billion available under its committed revolving credit agreement. Total debt outstanding was $3.5 billion, and net debt had fallen about $420 million in the quarter. The preliminary leverage ratio under the company’s bank covenant was 1.7 times.

The company repurchased $75.9 million of common stock in the third quarter, bringing repurchases through the third quarter to $149.4 million. Capital expenditures were about $343.5 million year-to-date 2026. Darling estimates capital expenditures of about $450.0 million for fiscal 2026.

Driven by an ongoing focus on deleveraging and confidence in the cash-generating power of its global operations, the company anticipates ending fiscal 2026 with net debt at or below $3.0 billion and a leverage ratio below 1.5 times. It reaffirms fiscal 2026 Combined Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randall C. Stuewe said the core business delivered another quarter of exceptional performance and that cash from Diamond Green Diesel enabled the $420 million net-debt reduction and capital returns.