Archer Daniels Stock Jumps As Profit Beat Offsets Sales Miss

Shares of Archer Daniels Midland Co. rallied 2.6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the agricultural services company beat third-quarter profit expectations by a wide margin, although revenue missed. Earnings for the quarter to Sept. 30 rose to $341 million, or 58 cents a share, from $252 million, or 41 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 59 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 46 cents. Revenue fell to $15.83 billion from $16.57 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $16.28 billion, as oilseeds processing and corn processing revenue fell a little more than expected, offsetting a bigger-than-expected increase in agricultural services revenue. "After working through the challenging environment in the first half of the year, we capitalized on improving operating conditions in the third quarter and are positioned well for a solid finish to the year," said Chief Executive John Luciano. The stock has run up 19% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4%.