ADM Surges 6% on $0.33 Billion Volume Amid Weak Earnings and Sector Woes Ranks 361st in Market Activity

Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) surged 6.00% on August 5, 2025, with a trading volume of $0.33 billion, a 139.22% increase from the previous day, ranking 361st in market activity. The stock’s rally followed a Q2 earnings report marked by a five-year low in adjusted net income amid global trade disruptions and biofuel policy uncertainties. The company reported $452 million in adjusted net earnings for the quarter, down from $508 million in the prior-year period, and revised its 2025 full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $4.00 per share, the lowest since 2020.

ADM’s Ag Services & Oilseeds segment, its largest division, saw a 7% decline in profit to $113 million, driven by weaker crop trading margins and low vegetable oil demand. The grain origination and crushing business fell 75% to $33 million as biofuel policy ambiguity and trade tensions pressured margins. CEO Juan Luciano highlighted potential for recovery in the latter half of 2025, citing U.S. government proposals to boost biofuel usage and domestic feedstock support. Analysts noted that policy clarity could ease macroeconomic headwinds, though ADM remains exposed to risks from Trump’s proposed tariffs and retaliatory trade measures targeting agricultural exports.

Investor sentiment was bolstered by ADM’s remediation of internal control weaknesses following a 2024 accounting scandal, as well as improved equity returns from its Wilmar investment. However, ongoing challenges from global crop oversupply and thinning margins across agribusiness peers like Bunge and Cargill underscored the sector’s fragility. CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram emphasized ADM’s positioning for a recovery if policy shifts stabilize crop processing and biofuel markets in the fourth quarter.

The strategy of purchasing the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding them for one day delivered a 166.71% return from 2022 to the present, outperforming the benchmark return of 29.18% by 137.53%. This underscores the role of liquidity concentration in short-term stock performance, particularly in volatile markets.