Dividend Growth Stocks: 25 Aristocrats

18. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)

5-Year Average Dividend Growth Rate: 7.21%

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) plays a key role in moving food ingredients from farm to end market. The company buys basic commodities, including wheat, processes agricultural products into cooking and food ingredients, and manages the transport and resale of those goods across global markets.

The past few years have not been easy. Global food supply chains have faced repeated disruptions, with the war in Ukraine adding fresh pressure. More recently, ADM has had to navigate falling prices for certain crops as oversupply weighed on global markets.

According to a Reuters report, ADM agreed to pay a $40 million civil penalty to settle SEC allegations that it inflated results in its Nutrition business. The company neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing. The Justice Department closed its separate investigation without filing criminal charges, bringing an end to a long-running accounting issue that led to financial restatements, steep share price declines, and shareholder lawsuits.

The SEC also sued former CFO Vikram Luthar and fined two other former executives tied to the matter. Regulators said the case centered on internal transactions that overstated the Nutrition unit’s performance, which led ADM to reduce operating profit for the segment by $228 million between 2018 and 2023.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) said it cooperated with regulators, carried out an internal review, and strengthened its accounting controls. CEO Juan Luciano said the company is pleased to put the issue behind it.