Summary: Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Global leader in grain merchandising&processing, corn&wheat milling, and ethanol production; Significant economies of scale with growing geographic and product diversification; and Cyclical earnings with a moderately improving operating outlook following consecutive years of weak performance. Track record of cautiously managing capital expenditures and shareholder returns during weak operating cycles to maintain consistent leverage levels; Modestly improving cash flow ratios, including debt to EBITDA near or below 2x as the company's EBITDA begins to rebound from cyclical lows; and Very liquid balance sheet, with high cash balances and liquid Adjusted Readily Marketable Inventories (ARMI), a portion of which we net against debt. S&P Global Ratings' stable outlook reflects our expectation for modestly improving leverage following recent challenging

...Business Risk: Strong Financial Risk: Intermediate + Global leader in grain merchandising & processing, corn & wheat milling, and ethanol production; + Significant economies of scale with growing geographic and product diversification; and + Cyclical earnings with a moderately improving operating outlook following consecutive years of weak performance. + Track record of cautiously managing capital expenditures and shareholder returns during weak operating cycles to maintain consistent leverage levels; + Modestly improving cash flow ratios, including debt to EBITDA near or below 2x as the company's EBITDA begins to rebound from cyclical lows; and + Very liquid balance sheet, with high cash balances and liquid Adjusted Readily Marketable Inventories (ARMI), a portion of which we net against debt....

Summary