ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND CO vs HERSHEY CO, two Food & Beverage stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where ADM and HSY diverge most: on revenue growth, ADM reads -3.7% and HSY reads +7.7%; on implied growth (priced in), ADM reads +4.3% and HSY reads +0.3%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's ADM price has a different growth bar priced in than HSY (+4.3% implied for ADM vs +0.3% for HSY); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What ADM's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What HSY's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | ADM | HSY |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $79.22 | $174.94 |
| Market cap | $38.3B | $38.8B |
| Sector | Food & Beverage | Food & Beverage |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +4.3% | +0.3% |
| P/E | 35.4 | — |
| P/B | 1.68 | 8.49 |
| P/S | 0.48 | 3.19 |
| EV/EBITDA | 38.7 | 16.5 |
| Revenue growth | -3.7% | +7.7% |
| Gross margin | 6.0% | 45.3% |
| Operating margin | — | 23.1% |
| Net margin | 1.3% | 12.2% |
| Return on equity | 4.7% | 32.6% |
| Return on assets | 1.9% | 10.7% |
| Return on invested capital | — | 16.4% |
| FCF yield | 12.5% | 5.8% |
| Dividend yield | 2.6% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.36 | 1.25 |
| Current ratio | 1.31 | 1.18 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 8.16 | 4.13 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 6 / 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.