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Investing.com – Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) reached a 52-week high Tuesday after the company milked strong Chinese demand and rising farm commodity prices in the March quarter to beat earnings expectations.
The company’s stock has jumped more than 20% since the end of January, and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) gave the stock a buy last week citing “a renewed agriculture cycle that is expected to last a few years and potentially much longer.” Shares rose 2.9% on Tuesday.
Agriculture commodities like corn and wheat have been trading at multi-year highs, thanks to booming demand for processed food and all things that make life easier.
Starches and sweeteners, including ethanol production from the company’s wet mills, achieved significantly higher results, capitalizing on rising prices in the ethanol complex.
Demand for flavors produced by the company grew, too.
ADM announced earnings per share of $1.39 on revenue of $18.89 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.04 on revenue of $16.25 billion.
Net earnings were $689 million, up by more than half from $391 million in the March quarter of 2020.
“We expect significant year-over-year growth in earnings across all three of our businesses in 2021, and continued sustainable growth in the years to come,” Chairman and CEO Juan Luciano said in a filing.
