Darling Ingredients (DAR) Investor Day 2026 summary

Strategic foundation, transformation, and growth trajectory

• Built a global platform through acquisitions and investments, expanding from 20 to 260 facilities since 2003, with a diversified asset base across five continents and ~16,000 employees, focusing on rendering, collagen, and renewable fuels.

• Divested non-core assets and invested in operational improvements, emphasizing decentralized entrepreneurship, transparency, and integrity.

• Strategic plan prioritizes profitable growth, leveraging global scale for financial flexibility and value creation, with organic growth and tuck-in acquisitions in key regions.

• Achieved global leadership in rendering and collagen, with capacity constraints driving expansion plans and a focus on wellness and nutrition through precision collagen and targeted health solutions.

• Focused on organic growth, planning 20–30 new factories globally over the next 3–5 years to meet rising protein demand.

Renewable fuels and Diamond Green Diesel outlook

• Diamond Green Diesel transformed waste fats into a high-value, resilient business, producing 1.2 billion gallons of renewable diesel and 235 million gallons of SAF annually, with high capacity utilization and attractive margins.

• The 2026–2027 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) is robust, increasing annual demand to 5.4 billion gallons and supporting strong margins and high utilization.

• U.S. is expected to become a premium market for renewables, attracting imports and supporting continued margin strength.

• Recent market conditions and geopolitical events have accelerated margin expansion and demand for renewables.

• DGD’s cash generation is now available for broader reinvestment, with no major new capacity planned unless market commitments justify it.

Collagen and targeted ingredients growth

• Collagen demand has surged, with product launches tripling globally since 2016, driven by wellness trends and protein demand.

• Rousselot’s Nextida platform targets functional health benefits, with Nextida GC focused on glucose control and future products planned for cognitive health, offering 7–11x the margin of traditional gelatin.

• If Nextida products reach 3% of volume, they could deliver 15% of segment EBITDA by 2030.

• Joint venture with Tessenderlo (pending closure) will expand global collagen and gelatin capacity and market reach.

• Application labs and co-branding strategies are deepening customer relationships and accelerating innovation.