- Cargill's animal protein business, which experienced record profits in recent years, is faltering due to inflation, which is eroding meat demand.
- Margins for meatpackers like Cargill, especially beef processors, have slumped after droughts forced US ranchers to cut herds, pushing up cattle prices.
- Global beef consumption is expected to stall this year and even fall in the US, with industry experts expecting growth to recover to around 1% a year for the next two decades.
- Cargill, owned by the descendants of the founding Cargill and MacMillan families, has stopped publicly reporting quarterly income data during the pandemic, releasing the information only to its investors.
- Investors have recently flocked to buy the company's bonds, and Fitch Ratings sees 'solid' momentum in the company's trading, processing, food ingredients, and animal nutrition businesses, helping offset softer meat markets.
Cargill’s Big Beef Bet Falters as Food Inflation Hits Demand
When David MacLennan put plans in motion to step down as Cargill Inc.’s chief executive officer, his transformation of the global grains trader into a protein powerhouse was looking particularly shrewd.
Tarso Veloso Ribeiro
