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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Restatement of Previously Filed Consolidated Financial Statements (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Nature of Business

Nature of Business

ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life for people and animals. ADM’s innovation and expertise are helping people live healthier lives and support a healthier planet. The Company’s globally-integrated footprint combined with local insight give ADM capabilities few other companies have to meet critical and global needs. With a foundation in nature and nutrition, the Company is a leader in sustainability, scaling across entire value chains to help decarbonize the industry, and safeguard the planet.

ADM has three business segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition. The Company is an essential global agricultural supply chain manager and processor supporting food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities.

Principles Of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. The Company consolidates all entities, including variable interest entities (VIEs), in which it has a controlling financial interest. For VIEs, the Company assesses whether it is the primary beneficiary as defined under the applicable accounting standard. Investments in affiliates, including VIEs through which the Company exercises significant influence but does not control the investee and is not the primary beneficiary of the investee’s activities, are carried at cost plus equity in undistributed earnings since acquisition and are adjusted, where appropriate, for basis differences between the investment balance and the underlying net assets of the investee. The Company’s portion of the results of certain affiliates and results of certain VIEs are included using the most recent available financial statements. In each case, the financial statements are within 93 days of the Company’s year-end and are consistent from period to period.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in its consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash Equivalents

Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all non-segregated, highly-liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Segregated Cash and Investments

Segregated Cash and Investments

The Company segregates certain cash, cash equivalents, and investment balances in accordance with regulatory requirements, commodity exchange requirements, and insurance arrangements. These balances represent deposits received from customers of the Company’s registered futures commission merchant and commodity brokerage services, cash margins and securities pledged to commodity exchange clearinghouses, and cash pledged as security under certain insurance arrangements. Segregated cash and investments also include restricted cash collateral for the various insurance programs of the Company’s captive insurance business. To the degree these segregated balances are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, they are considered restricted cash and cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows.

Receivables

The Company records accounts receivable at net realizable value. This value includes an allowance for estimated uncollectible accounts to reflect any loss anticipated on the accounts receivable balances including any accrued interest receivables

thereon. The Company estimates uncollectible accounts by pooling receivables according to type, region, credit risk rating, and age. Each pool is assigned an expected loss co-efficient to arrive at a general reserve based on historical write-offs adjusted, as needed, for regional, economic, and other forward-looking factors. The Company minimizes credit risk due to the large and diversified nature of its worldwide customer base. ADM manages its exposure to counter-party credit risk through credit analysis and approvals, credit limits, and monitoring procedures. Long-term receivables recorded in other assets were not material to the Company’s overall receivables portfolio. The Company recorded bad debt expense in selling, general, and administrative expenses of $6 million, $88 million, and $32 million in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

Inventories

Certain merchandisable agricultural commodity inventories, which include inventories acquired under deferred pricing contracts, are stated at market value. In addition, the Company values certain inventories using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method at the lower of cost or net realizable value.

Cost Method Investments

Cost Method Investments

Cost method investments of $438 million and $488 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, are included in Other Assets in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Revaluation losses of $76 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 were related to investments in the alternative protein category and precision fermentation. Revaluation gains of $37 million and $49 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, were in connection with observable third-party transactions (a level 2 measurement under applicable accounting standards). Revaluation gains and losses are recorded in interest and investment income in the Company’s consolidated statements of earnings. As of December 31, 2023, the cumulative amounts of upward and downward adjustments were $113 million and $76 million, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

The Company determines fair value based on the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Company uses the market approach valuation technique to measure the majority of its assets and liabilities carried at fair value. Three levels are established within the fair value hierarchy that may be used to report fair value: Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2: Observable inputs, including Level 1 prices that have been adjusted; quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are less active than traded exchanges; and other inputs that are observable or can be substantially corroborated by observable market data. Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are a significant component of the fair value of the assets or liabilities. In evaluating the significance of fair value inputs, the Company generally classifies assets or liabilities as Level 3 when their fair value is determined using unobservable inputs that individually or when aggregated with other unobservable inputs, represent more than 10% of the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Judgment is required in evaluating both quantitative and qualitative factors in the determination of significance for purposes of fair value level classification. Level 3 amounts can include assets and liabilities whose value is determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, as well as assets and liabilities for which the determination of fair value requires significant management judgment or estimation.

Based on historical experience with the Company’s suppliers and customers, the Company’s own credit risk and knowledge of current market conditions, the Company does not view nonperformance risk to be a significant input to fair value for the majority of its forward commodity purchase and sale contracts. However, in certain cases, if the Company believes the nonperformance risk to be a significant input, the Company records estimated fair value adjustments, and classifies the measurement in Level 3.

In many cases, a valuation technique used to measure fair value includes inputs from multiple levels of the fair value hierarchy. The lowest level of input that is a significant component of the fair value measurement determines the placement of the entire fair value measurement in the hierarchy. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment, and may affect the classification of fair value assets and liabilities within the fair value hierarchy levels.

The Company’s policy regarding the timing of transfers between levels, including both transfers into and transfers out of Level 3, is to measure and record the transfers at the end of the reporting period.

Derivatives

The Company recognizes all of its derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value in its consolidated balance sheet. Unrealized gains are reported as other current assets and unrealized losses are reported as accrued expenses and other payables. The accounting for changes in the fair value (i.e., gains or losses) of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship and on the type of hedging relationship. The majority of the Company’s derivatives have not been designated as hedging instruments, and as such, changes in fair value of these derivatives are recognized in earnings immediately. For those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, the Company designates the hedging instrument, based upon the exposure being hedged, as a cash flow hedge or a net investment hedge.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as highly-effective cash flow hedges (i.e., hedging the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows that is attributable to a particular risk), the gain or loss on the derivative instrument is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) (AOCI) and as an operating activity in the statement of cash flows and reclassified into earnings in the same line item affected by the hedged transaction and in the same period or periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. Hedge components excluded from the assessment of effectiveness and gains and losses related to discontinued hedges are recognized in the consolidated statement of earnings during the current period.

For derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as net investment hedges, foreign exchange gains and losses related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates are deferred in AOCI until the underlying investment is divested.

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment are recorded at cost. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred. The Company uses the straight-line method in computing depreciation for financial reporting purposes and generally uses accelerated methods for income tax purposes. The annual provisions for depreciation have been computed principally in accordance with the following ranges of asset lives: buildings - 15 to 40 years; machinery and equipment - 3 to 40 years. The Company capitalized interest on major construction projects in progress of $32 million, $20 million, and $17 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements using statutory rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recorded in the results of operations in the period that includes the enactment date under the law. Applicable accounting standards prescribe a minimum threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the consolidated financial statements. The Company recognizes in its consolidated financial statements tax positions determined more likely than not to be sustained upon examination, based on the technical merits of the position.

The Company classifies interest on income tax-related balances as interest expense and classifies tax-related penalties as selling, general, and administrative expenses. Income tax effects from AOCI are released when the individual units of account are sold, terminated, or extinguished.

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests. Definite-lived intangible assets, including capitalized expenses related to the Company’s 1ADM program such as third-party configuration costs and internal labor, are amortized over their estimated useful lives of 1 to 50 years and are reviewed for impairment whenever there are indicators the carrying value of the assets may not be fully recoverable. The Company’s accounting policy is to evaluate goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite lives for impairment on October 1 of each fiscal year or whenever there are indicators the carrying value of the assets may not be fully recoverable. The Company recorded impairment charges totaling $201 million related to goodwill, customer list, and discontinued animal nutrition trademarks, $2 million related to customer list, and $52 million related to goodwill and other intangibles during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively (see Note 9 for additional information).

The goodwill impairment charge recorded during the year ended December 31, 2023 of $137 million was related to the Animal Nutrition reporting unit that was evaluated for impairment using a quantitative assessment. The Company utilized a third-party valuation specialist to assist management in determining the fair value of the Animal Nutrition reporting unit. The fair value of the Animal Nutrition reporting unit was estimated based on a combination of discounted cash flows (income approach) and the use of pricing multiples derived from an analysis of comparable public companies multiplied against historical and or anticipated financial metrics (market approach). As a result of the impairment testing in the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company determined the fair value of the Animal Nutrition reporting unit was below its carrying value. The decline in the fair

value of the Animal Nutrition reporting unit was primarily driven by a higher discount rate due to changes in the underlying business performance and industry conditions as well as the macroeconomic environment, causing a decline in projected cash flows.

Asset Abandonments and Write-Downs

Asset Abandonments and Write-Downs

The Company evaluates long-lived assets for impairment whenever indicators of impairment exist. In addition, assets are written down to fair value after consideration of the Company’s ability to utilize the assets for their intended purpose, employ the assets in alternative uses, or sell the assets to recover the carrying value. Fair value is generally based on discounted cash flow analysis which relies on management’s estimate of market participant assumptions or estimated selling price for assets considered held for sale (a Level 3 measurement under applicable accounting standards). During 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company temporarily idled certain assets which were not material. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, asset abandonment and impairment charges were $108 million, $35 million, and $73 million, respectively.

Payables to Brokerage Customers

Payables to Brokerage Customers

Payables to brokerage customers represent the total of customer accounts at the Company’s futures commission merchant with credit or positive balances. Customer accounts are used primarily in connection with commodity transactions and include gains and losses on open commodity trades as well as securities and other deposits made for margins or other purposes as required by the Company or the exchange-clearing organizations or counterparties. Payables to brokerage customers have a corresponding balance in segregated cash and investments and customer omnibus receivable in other current assets.

Revenues

The Company follows a policy of recognizing revenue at a single point in time when it satisfies its performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer. For transportation service contracts, the Company recognizes revenue over time as the mode of transportation moves towards its destination in accordance with the transfer of control guidance of ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“Topic 606”). For physically settled derivative sales contracts that are outside the scope of Topic 606, the Company recognizes revenue when control of the inventory is transferred within the meaning of Topic 606 as required by ASC 610-20, Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (“Topic 610-20”).

Stock Compensation

Stock Compensation

The Company recognizes expense for its stock compensation based on the fair value of the awards that are granted. The Company’s stock compensation plans provide for the granting of restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance stock units, and stock options. The fair values of stock options and performance stock units are estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option valuation model and a lattice valuation model, respectively. These valuation models require the input of subjective assumptions. Measured compensation cost, net of forfeitures, is recognized ratably over the vesting period of the related stock compensation award.

Research and Development

Research and Development

Costs associated with research and development are expensed as incurred and recorded within selling, general, and administrative expenses. Such costs incurred, net of expenditures subsequently reimbursed by government grants, were $256 million, $216 million, and $171 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

Per Share Data

Basic earnings per common share are determined by dividing net earnings attributable to controlling interests by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. In computing diluted earnings per share, average number of common shares outstanding is increased by common stock options outstanding with exercise prices lower than the average market price of common shares using the treasury share method.

Business Combinations

Business Combinations

The Company’s acquisitions are accounted for in accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, as amended. The consideration transferred is allocated to various assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values as of the acquisition date with the residual allocated to goodwill. Fair values allocated to assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations require management to make significant judgments, estimates, and assumptions, especially with respect to intangible assets. Management makes estimates of fair values based upon assumptions it believes to be reasonable. These estimates are based upon historical experience and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain. The estimated fair values related to intangible assets primarily consist of customer relationships, trademarks, and developed technology which are determined primarily using discounted cash flow models. Estimates in the discounted cash flow models include, but are not limited to, certain assumptions that form the basis of the forecasted results (e.g. revenue growth rates, customer attrition rates, and royalty rates). These significant assumptions are forward looking and could be affected by future economic and market conditions. During the measurement period, which may take up to one year from the acquisition date, adjustments due to changes in the estimated fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed may be recorded as adjustments to the consideration transferred and the related allocations. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or the final determination of the values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any such adjustments are charged to the consolidated statements of earnings.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

New Accounting Standards

Effective January 1, 2023, the Company adopted the amended guidance of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 805, Business Combinations, which improves comparability for both the recognition and measurement of acquired revenue contracts with customers at the date of and after a business combination. The amended guidance requires an entity (acquirer) to recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, (Topic 606). The Company’s adoption of this amended guidance did not have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2023, the Company adopted the amended guidance of ASC Subtopic 405-50, Liabilities - Supplier Finance Programs, which enhances the transparency of supplier finance programs. The amended guidance requires an entity (buyer) in a supplier finance program to disclose sufficient information about the program to allow a user of financial statements to understand the program’s nature, activity during the period, changes from period to period, and potential magnitude. ADM has Supplier Payable Programs (“SPP”) with financial institutions which act as its paying agents for payables due to certain of its suppliers. The Company has neither an economic interest in a supplier’s participation in the SPP nor a direct financial relationship with the financial institutions, and has concluded its obligations to the suppliers, including amounts due and scheduled payment terms, are not impacted by their participation in the SPP. Accordingly, amounts associated with the SPP

continue to be classified in current liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet and in operating activities in its consolidated statement of cash flows. The supplier invoices that have been confirmed as valid under the program require payment in full generally within 90 days of the invoice date. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company's outstanding payment obligations suppliers had elected to sell to the financial institutions were $274 million and $196 million, respectively. Changes to the outstanding payment obligations are as follows:


			Year Ended December 31
			2023
			(In millions)
Beginning, January 1			$	196
Obligations confirmed			1,100
Obligations paid			(1,022)
Ending, December 31			$	274

Through December 31, 2024, the Company has the option to adopt the amended guidance of ASC Topic 848, Reference Rate Reform, which provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by the reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of the reference rate reform. The expedients and exceptions provided by the amended guidance do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2024, except for hedging relationships existing as of December 31, 2024, that an entity has elected certain optional expedients for and are retained through the end of the hedging relationship. The Company’s adoption of the amended guidance will not have an impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Effective December 31, 2024, the Company will be required to adopt the amended guidance of ASC 280, Segment Reporting, which improves disclosures about a public entity’s reportable segments and addresses requests from investors and other allocators of capital for more detailed information about a reportable segment’s expenses. The amended guidance improves reportable segment disclosure requirements primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses and permits entities to disclose more than one measure of a reportable segment’s profitability used by the Chief Operating Decision Maker. The adoption of the amended guidance will result in expanded disclosures in the Company’s segment and geographic information footnote but will not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Effective December 31, 2025, the Company will be required to adopt the amended guidance of ASC 740, Income Taxes, which enhances the transparency and decision usefulness of income tax disclosures. The amendments address investor requests for more transparency about income tax information through improvements to income tax disclosures primarily related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid information. The adoption of the amended guidance will result in expanded disclosures in the Company’s income taxes footnote but will not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Restatement of Previously Filed Consolidated Financial Statements

Following ongoing dialogue with the staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Company concluded that it would amend its fiscal year 2023 Form 10-K (the “FY2023 Form 10-K”) and Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 2024 (collectively, the “Q1 and Q2 2024 Form 10-Qs”) to restate the segment information disclosure included in those filings. These restatements do not impact ADM’s Consolidated Statements of Earnings, Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows or Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity as of and for the periods presented in the Amended Reports.

As previously disclosed in Note 17. Segment and Geographic Information, to ADM’s consolidated financial statements included in the FY2023 Form 10-K, ADM identified and corrected certain intersegment sales amounts that either (i) were not in accordance with prior disclosures about presenting such sales at amounts approximating market or (ii) included intrasegment

sales (resulting from sales within the segment) and should have included exclusively intersegment sales (resulting from sales from one segment to another). In connection with the error corrections, ADM identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting related to its accounting practices and procedures for intersegment sales. The Company put in place a plan to remediate this material weakness, as disclosed in the FY2023 Form 10-K and Q1 and Q2 2024 Form 10-Qs.

In the course of testing new controls implemented as part of the Company’s material weakness remediation plan in the third quarter of 2024, ADM identified additional intrasegment sales previously misclassified and reported as intersegment sales. These newly identified errors concern intersegment sales for each of its Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions and Nutrition segments that included certain additional intrasegment sales and should have included exclusively intersegment sales. The Company also identified some intersegment sales between Ag Services and Oilseeds and Carbohydrate Solutions that were not accounted for consistently in accordance with revenue recognition and segment reporting standards and should not have been reported as intersegment sales.

The Company also is correcting certain segment disclosure presentation errors. In this Amendment, the Company is revising its reconciliation and calculation of total segment operating profit. The revised reconciliation in Note 17. Segment and Geographic Information, presents a subtotal for total segment operating profit that is equal to the sum of the segment operating profit reported for each of the Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions and Nutrition segments. Amounts for other business and specified items, which previously were reflected in the calculation of total segment operating profit, are now reflected as reconciling items, similar to Corporate, between total segment operating profit and earnings before income taxes.

The Company has restated its consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 in Note 17. Segment and Geographic Information, and has provided restated segment information for each of the quarters within the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 in Note 21. Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited).

Shares Subject to Mandatory Redemption, Changes in Redemption Value, Policy

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest

The Company accounts for any redeemable noncontrolling interest in temporary equity - redeemable noncontrolling interest at redemption value with periodic changes recorded in retained earnings.