DAR vs HRL: Darling Ingredients and Hormel Foods compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Hormel Foods is the larger company, worth $10.8B, close to Darling Ingredients's $9.6B.
- Darling Ingredients grew revenue faster over the last year (+16.4% vs -2.4%).
- Darling Ingredients keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (14.5% vs 4.7%).
- On earnings, Hormel Foods is the cheaper stock (22.1x vs 43.7x).
- Hormel Foods's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 5% a year, against 0% for Darling Ingredients (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | DAR | HRL |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $9.6B | $10.8B |
| Share price | $60.26 | $19.19 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $6.1B | $12.1B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $679M | $534M |
| Revenue growth, last year | +16.4% | -2.4% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +6.7% | +1.5% |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 4.7% |
| Net margin | 9.1% | 2.8% |
| Return on equity | 11.4% | 4.4% |
| P/E (trailing) | 43.7x | 22.1x |
| Price / free cash flow | 14.1x | 20.3x |
| EV / EBITDA | 9.24x | 14.7x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 0.43% | 5.2% |
| Dividend yield | — | 5.9% |
| Debt / equity | 1.08x | 0.69x |
| Fundamental grade | C | D |
| Superinvestors holding it | 4 | 2 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 0 | 3 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Darling Ingredients
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4.7B | $430M | 18.7% |
| 2022 | $6.5B | $422M | 15.8% |
| 2023 | $6.8B | $344M | 14.0% |
| 2024 | $5.7B | $507M | 8.2% |
| 2025 | $6.1B | $679M | 4.5% |
Hormel Foods
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $11.4B | $770M | 9.9% |
| 2022 | $12.5B | $856M | 10.5% |
| 2023 | $12.1B | $778M | 8.9% |
| 2024 | $11.9B | $1.0B | 9.0% |
| 2025 | $12.1B | $534M | 5.9% |
Where the revenue comes from
Darling Ingredients · by segments, 2025
Feed Ingredients$4.0B65%
Food Ingredients$1.5B25%
Fuel Ingredients$601M10%
Hormel Foods · by segments, 2025
Retail$7.5B62%
Foodservice$3.9B33%
International$709M6%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open DAR in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Darling Ingredients or Hormel Foods?
Hormel Foods (HRL), at $10.8B against $9.6B.
Is DAR or HRL cheaper?
By trailing P/E, Hormel Foods (22.1x) is cheaper than Darling Ingredients (43.7x). A lower multiple can also mean the market expects less growth.
Which grows faster, DAR or HRL?
Darling Ingredients: revenue grew +16.4% over the last year, against -2.4%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.