Sifting through countless of stocks in the Food Products industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Hormel Foods Corporation or Darling Ingredients Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc.

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to foodservice, convenience store, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products, including resh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, bacon, sausages, hams, guacamole, and other items that require refrigeration; and shelf-stable products, such as canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, and other items that do not require refrigeration. It sells its products under the HORMEL, ALWAYS TENDER, APPLEGATE, AUSTIN BLUES, BACON 1, BLACK LABEL, BREAD READY, BURKE, CAFÉ H, CERATTI, CHI-CHI’S, COLUMBUS, COMPLEATS, CORN NUTS, CURE 81, DAN’S PRIZE, DI LUSSO, DINTY MOORE, DON MIGUEL, DOÑA MARIA, EMBASA, FAST ‘N EASY, FIRE BRAISED, FONTANINI, HERDEZ, HORMEL GATHERINGS, HOUSE OF TSANG, JENNIE-O, JUSTIN’S, LA VICTORIA, LAYOUT, LLOYD’S, MARY KITCHEN, MR. PEANUT, NATURAL CHOICE, NUT-RITION, OLD SMOKEHOUSE, OVEN READY, PILLOW PACK, PLANTERS, ROSA GRANDE, SADLER’S SMOKEHOUSE, SKIPPY, SPAM, SQUARE TABLE, SPECIAL RECIPE, VALLEY FRESH, and WHOLLY brands through sales personnel, independent brokers, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Geo. A. Hormel & Company and changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in January 1995. Hormel Foods Corporation was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Austin, Minnesota.

Darling Ingredients Inc. develops, produces, and sells sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients in North America, Europe, China, South America, and internationally. The Feed Ingredients segment collects and processes animal by-products into non-food grade oils and protein meals; bakery residuals into cookie meal used in poultry and swine rations; used cooking oil into non-food grade fats; and porcine and bovine blood into blood plasma powder and hemoglobin. This segment is also involved in the processing of selected portions of slaughtered animals into pet food, as well as of cattle hides and hog skins; production of organic fertilizers; rearing and processing of black soldier fly larvae into specialty proteins and fats for use in animal feed and pet food; and grease trap collection services to food service establishments. Its Food Ingredients segment engages in the purchase and processing of beef and pork bone chips, beef hides, and pig and fish skins into collagen; collection and processing of porcine and bovine intestines into natural casings; extraction and processing of porcine mucosa into crude heparin; collection and refining of animal fat into food grade fat; and processing of bones to bone chips and bone ash. The Fuel Ingredients segment is involved in the conversion of organic sludge and food waste into biogas; collection and conversion of fallen stock and certain animal by-products into low-grade energy sources; and processing of manure into natural bio-phosphate. It also provides environmental services, including disposal services; and yellow grease, fuel feedstock, and agriculture-based biofuels. The company sells its products under the Rendac, Sonac, FASA, Ecoson, Rousselot, Gelnex, and CTH brands. The company was formerly known as Darling International Inc. and changed its name to Darling Ingredients Inc. in May 2014. Darling Ingredients Inc. was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Latest Food Products and Hormel Foods Corporation, Darling Ingredients Inc. Stock News

As of May 7, 2026, Hormel Foods Corporation had a $11.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Food Products median of $1.8 million. Hormel Foods Corporation’s stock is down 12.6% in 2026, down 2.8% in the previous five trading days and down 28.82% in the past year.

Currently, Hormel Foods Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 23.3. Hormel Foods Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.1 billion with a 4.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.470 per share for the current fiscal year. Hormel Foods Corporation currently has a 5.6% dividend yield.

As of May 7, 2026, Darling Ingredients Inc. had a $9.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 77th percentile of all stocks. Darling Ingredients Inc.’s stock is up 74.8% in 2026, down 1.3% in the previous five trading days and up 89.33% in the past year.

Currently, Darling Ingredients Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 159.7. Darling Ingredients Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.1 billion with a 3.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 20.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.578 per share for the current fiscal year. Darling Ingredients Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	B
Darling Ingredients Inc.	DAR	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Hormel Foods Corporation has a Value Score of 65, which is Value. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a Value Score of 43, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: Hormel Foods Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Hormel Foods Corporation is considered to have better value than Darling Ingredients Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Hormel Foods Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	C
Darling Ingredients Inc.	DAR	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Hormel Foods Corporation has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Darling Ingredients Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Darling Ingredients Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Hormel Foods Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Darling Ingredients Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	B
Darling Ingredients Inc.	DAR	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Hormel Foods Corporation has a Quality Score of 69, which is Strong. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a Quality Score of 71, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

Other Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Value and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Hormel Foods Corporation or Darling Ingredients Inc. Stock?

Overall, Hormel Foods Corporation stock has a Value Score of 65, Growth Score of 56 and Quality Score of 69.

Darling Ingredients Inc. stock has a Value Score of 43, Growth Score of 83 and Quality Score of 71.

Comparing Hormel Foods Corporation and Darling Ingredients Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.