Darling Ingredients Inc. Common Stock (DAR)
Fast GrowerFairStock Score: 20/100 — RISKY
Key Financials
| Current Price | $62.37 |
| Market Cap | $9.6B |
| P/E Ratio | 45.2 |
| ROE | 4.88% |
| Dividend Yield | —% |
| Sector | Consumer Defensive |
Strengths
- Generates $219 million in annual free cash flow (2.3% yield on market cap)
- Strong Piotroski F-Score of 8/9 indicating robust financial health across profitability, leverage, and efficiency metrics
- Revenue growth of 20.6% demonstrates strong top-line momentum
- Established organization with 15,000 employees providing operational scale
Concerns
- Trades significantly above Graham Number ($16) with negative 275% margin of safety—limited downside protection
AI Analysis
Darling Ingredients Inc. Common Stock is a small-cap consumer defensive company valued at $9.6 billion. The business generates $6.1 billion in annual revenue with a 0.9% net margin and $219 million in free cash flow. From a quality standpoint, Darling shows near-perfect Piotroski F-Score of 8/9 indicating exceptional financial health and Altman Z-Score of 1.9 in the grey zone. On valuation, the stock is commanding a steep 156.3x multiple, with trades far above its Graham Number ($16) with no margin of safety. Growth dynamics show revenue growing at 20.6% and profit growth of -44.1%. Our composite FairStock Score of 20/100 reflects below-average fundamentals overall. Investors should weigh the business quality against the current price and their own margin of safety requirements.
Bull Case
Darling's 21% revenue growth trajectory could accelerate as it captures additional market share in the consumer defensive sector. With $219 million in annual free cash flow (2.3% yield), management has ample capital for buybacks, dividends, or accretive acquisitions.
Bear Case
At 156x earnings, any growth disappointment triggers rapid multiple compression—a 20% earnings miss plus multiple contraction to 20x implies 40%+ downside. Regulatory changes, input cost inflation, or demand normalization represent underappreciated risks that could materially impact forward estimates.
Data from SEC filings. AI analysis is for educational purposes only — not investment advice. Scoring methodology · Disclaimer