ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND CO vs DIAGEO plc, two Food & Beverage stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Diageo distills premium spirits; Archer-Daniels-Midland processes agricultural commodities, and the profitability gap follows. Diageo keeps 9.08% of revenue as profit against ADM's 1.34%, and earns 18.53% on equity where ADM manages 4.74%. The market prices that quality difference into the book: Diageo at 3.39 times, ADM at 1.63. On earnings ADM is oddly the dearer name, 34.29 times against Diageo's 19.73, a multiple inflated by depressed profits. ADM's free cash yield of 12.89% is real, though Diageo's reported 27.68% is likely a one-time working-capital swing rather than a repeatable figure. Both are similar in size, $46.4B for Diageo and $37.2B for ADM. Brands command the premium; commodities live on volume.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | ADM | DEO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $80.41 | $81.96 |
| Market cap | $38.9B | $45.5B |
| Sector | Food & Beverage | Food & Beverage |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +5.0% | — |
| P/E | 35.9 | 19.4 |
| P/B | 1.71 | 3.32 |
| P/S | 0.48 | 1.63 |
| EV/EBITDA | 39.2 | 10.0 |
| Revenue growth | -3.7% | +4.2% |
| Gross margin | 6.0% | 43.5% |
| Operating margin | — | 15.5% |
| Net margin | 1.3% | 9.1% |
| Return on equity | 4.7% | 18.5% |
| Return on assets | 1.9% | 5.0% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 22.7% |
| FCF yield | 12.3% | 28.2% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.36 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.31 | 1.60 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.16 | 2.00 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.