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Derivatives
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2025
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
Derivatives Derivatives
The Company’s operations are exposed to market risks relating to commodity prices that affect the Company’s cost of raw materials, finished product prices, energy costs and the risk of changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates.
The Company makes limited use of derivative instruments to manage cash flow risks related to interest rates, natural gas usage, diesel fuel usage, inventory, forecasted sales and foreign currency exchange rates. Interest rate swaps are entered into with the intent of managing overall borrowing costs by reducing the potential impact of increases in interest rates on floating-rate long-term debt. Natural gas swaps and options are entered into with the intent of managing the overall cost of natural gas usage by reducing the potential impact of seasonal weather demands on natural gas that increases natural gas prices.  Heating oil swaps and options are entered into with the intent of managing the overall cost of diesel fuel usage by reducing the potential impact of seasonal weather demands on diesel fuel that increases diesel fuel prices.  Soybean meal forwards and options are entered into with the intent of managing the impact of changing prices for poultry meal sales. Corn options and future contracts are entered into with the intent of managing U.S. forecasted sales of bakery by-products (“BBP”) by reducing the impact of changing prices.  Foreign currency forward and option contracts are entered into to mitigate the foreign exchange rate risk for transactions designated in a currency other than the local functional currency. 

At September 27, 2025, the Company had foreign exchange forward and option contracts and interest rate swaps outstanding that qualified and were designated for hedge accounting as well as corn option and forward contracts, soybean meal option contracts, soybean oil option contracts, other commodity forward contracts, and foreign currency forward contracts that did not qualify and were not designated for hedge accounting.

In fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, the Company’s DGD Joint Venture entered into heating oil derivatives that were deemed to be cash flow hedges. As a result, the Company has accrued the other comprehensive income/(loss) portion belonging to Darling with an offset to the investment in DGD as required by Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC Topic 323.

Cash Flow Hedges

In fiscal 2023, the Company designated interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges of the interest rate risk on a portion of its outstanding variable rate debt. Due to a change in the terms of the underlying debt instruments, the hedging relationships were dedesignated in June 2025. The cumulative gain of approximately $4.1 million, previously recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the cash flow hedges was reclassified to interest expense upon dedesignation. In July 2025, the Company designated interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges. The notional amount of these swaps totaled $900.0 million. Under the contracts, the Company is obligated to pay a weighted average rate of 3.656% while receiving the 1-month SOFR rate. Under terms of the interest rate swaps, the Company hedges a portion of its variable rate debt into the second quarter of 2027. At September 27, 2025, the aggregate fair value of these interest rate swaps was approximately $2.4 million and was recorded in other current assets, accrued expenses and noncurrent liabilities on the balance sheet, with an offset recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss. At December 28, 2024, the aggregate fair value of these interest rate swaps was approximately $4.2 million and was recorded in other current assets, accrued expenses, other assets and noncurrent liabilities on the balance sheet, with an offset recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss.

In fiscal 2023, the Company also entered into cross currency swaps that were designated as cash flow hedges to hedge the Company’s intercompany loans. During the second quarter of 2025, the intercompany loans and cross currency swaps were settled. At September 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024, the aggregate fair value of these cross currency swaps was approximately zero and $22.2 million, respectively. At December 28, 2024, these amounts are included in other current assets on the balance sheet, with an offset recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss.

In fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, the Company entered into foreign exchange options and forward contracts that are designated as cash flow hedges. Under the terms of the foreign exchange contracts, the Company hedged a portion of its forecasted sales in currencies other than the functional currency through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. At September 27, 2025 and December 28, 2024, the aggregate fair value of these foreign exchange contracts was approximately $17.9 million and $32.6 million, respectively. These amounts are included in other current assets, other assets, accrued expenses and other noncurrent liabilities on the balance sheet, with an offset recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss.

The Company may enter into corn forward and option contracts, soybean meal forward and option contracts and heating oil swap and option contracts from time to time. There were not any open designated corn, soybean meal or heating oil contracts entered into by the Company at September 27, 2025.
As of September 27, 2025, the Company had the following designated and non-designated outstanding forward and option contract amounts that were entered into to hedge foreign currency transactions in currencies other than the functional currency and forecasted transactions in currencies other than the functional currency (in thousands):

Functional CurrencyContract Currency
TypeAmountTypeAmount
Brazilian real258,491 Euro38,315 
Brazilian real2,249,479 U.S. dollar390,561 
Euro19,638 U.S. dollar23,066 
Euro81,803 Polish zloty348,945 
Euro11,215 Japanese yen1,948,542 
Euro21,942 Chinese renminbi183,153 
Euro15,634 Australian dollar27,950 
Euro3,951 British pound3,451 
Polish zloty956 U.S. dollar264 
Polish zloty51,056 Euro11,957 
British pound202 U.S. dollar273 
Japanese yen146,412 U.S. dollar993 
U.S. dollar213 Japanese yen31,422 
Australian dollar218 U.S. dollar144 

The Company estimates the amount that will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss at September 27, 2025 into earnings over the next 12 months for all cash flow hedges will be approximately $12.9 million. As of September 27, 2025, $4.1 million has been reclassified into earnings as a result of the discontinuance of cash flow hedges.

The table below summarizes the effect of derivatives not designated as hedges on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024 (in thousands):

Loss or (Gain) Recognized in Income on Derivatives Not Designated as Hedges
Three Months EndedNine Months Ended
Derivatives not designated as hedging instrumentsLocationSeptember 27,
2025		September 28,
2024		September 27,
2025		September 28,
2024
Foreign exchangeForeign currency loss/(gain)$692 $(1,459)$(144)$(2,309)
Foreign exchange
Net sales
(78)(298)(662)344 
Foreign exchange
Cost of sales and operating expenses
(17)173 175 (126)
Foreign exchangeSelling, general and administrative expenses(5,747)(1,289)(19,914)8,283 
Interest rate swapInterest expense— — (961)— 
Corn options and futuresNet sales— 106 (1,445)652 
Corn options and futures
Cost of sales and operating expenses
536 319 — (1,917)
Soybean meal
Net sales
428 — 649 — 
Soybean oil
Net sales
2,635 — 2,477 — 
Other commoditiesSelling, general and administrative expenses32 — (669)— 
Total$(1,519)$(2,448)$(20,494)$4,927 

At September 27, 2025, the Company had forward purchase agreements in place for purchases of approximately $278.5 million of natural gas and diesel fuel.  The Company intends to take physical delivery of the commodities under the forward purchase agreements and accordingly, these contracts are not subject to the requirements of fair value accounting because they qualify as normal purchases.