Legal Proceedings

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Legal Matters and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

The Company is routinely involved in a number of actual or threatened legal actions, including those involving alleged personal injuries, employment law, product liability, intellectual property, environmental issues, alleged tax liability (see Note 10 for information on income tax matters), and class actions. The Company also routinely receives inquiries from regulators and other government authorities relating to various aspects of its business, and at any given time, the Company has matters at various stages of resolution. The outcomes of these matters are not within the Company’s complete control and may not be known for prolonged periods of time. In some actions, claimants seek damages, as well as other relief including injunctive relief, that could require significant expenditures or result in lost revenues. In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Company records a liability in its consolidated financial statements for material loss contingencies when a loss is known or considered probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a known or probable loss is a range, and no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other, the minimum amount of the range is accrued. If a material loss contingency is reasonably possible but not known or probable, and can be reasonably estimated, the estimated loss or range of loss is disclosed in the notes to the consolidated financial statements. When determining the estimated loss or range of loss, significant judgment is required to estimate the amount and timing of a loss to be recorded. Estimates of probable losses resulting from litigation and governmental proceedings involving the Company are inherently difficult to predict, particularly when the matters are in early procedural stages, with incomplete facts or legal discovery; involve unsubstantiated or indeterminate claims for damages; potentially involve penalties, fines, disgorgement, or punitive damages; or could result in a change in business practice. The Company’s estimated loss or range of loss with respect to loss contingencies may change from time to time, and it is reasonably possible the Company will incur actual losses in excess of the amounts currently accrued and such additional amounts may be material. While the Company continues to work with parties with respect to potential resolution, no assurance can be given that it will be successful in doing so and the Company cannot predict the outcome of these matters.

Commodities Class Actions

On September 4, 2019, AOT Holding AG (“AOT”) filed a putative class action under the U.S. Commodities Exchange Act in federal district court in Urbana, Illinois, alleging the Company sought to manipulate the benchmark price used to price and settle ethanol derivatives traded on futures exchanges. On March 16, 2021, AOT filed an amended complaint adding a second named plaintiff Maize Capital Group, LLC (“Maize”). AOT and Maize allege that members of the putative class collectively suffered damages calculated to be between approximately $500 million to over $2.0 billion as a result of the Company’s alleged actions. On July 14, 2020, Green Plains Inc. and its related entities (“GP”) filed a putative class action lawsuit, alleging substantially the same operative facts, in federal court in Nebraska, seeking to represent sellers of ethanol. On July 23, 2020, Midwest Renewable Energy, LLC (“MRE”) filed a putative class action in federal court in Illinois alleging substantially the same operative facts and asserting claims under the Sherman Act. On November 11, 2020, United Wisconsin Grain Producers LLC (“UWGP”) and five other ethanol producers filed a lawsuit in federal court in Illinois alleging substantially the same facts and asserting claims under the Sherman Act and Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin law. The court granted ADM’s motion to dismiss the MRE and UWGP complaints without prejudice on August 9, 2021 and September 28, 2021, respectively. On August 16, 2021, the court granted ADM’s motion to dismiss the GP complaint, dismissing one claim with prejudice and declining jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim. MRE filed an amended complaint on August 30, 2021, which ADM moved to dismiss on September 27, 2021. The court denied ADM’s motion to dismiss on September 26, 2023. UWGP filed an amended complaint on October 19, 2021, which the court dismissed on July 12, 2022. UWGP has appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. On October 26, 2021, GP filed a new complaint in Nebraska federal district court, alleging substantially the same facts and asserting a claim for tortious interference with contractual relations. On March 18, 2022, the Nebraska federal district court granted ADM’s motion to transfer the GP case back to the Central District of Illinois for further proceedings. ADM moved to dismiss the complaint on May 20, 2022 and on December 30, 2022, the court dismissed GP’s complaint with prejudice. GP appealed the dismissal. On January 12, 2024, the appellate court vacated the dismissal and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. On March 8, 2024, GP filed an amended complaint, which ADM has moved to dismiss. The Company denies liability, and is vigorously defending itself in these actions. As these actions are in pretrial proceedings, the Company is unable at this time to predict the final outcome with any reasonable degree of certainty, but believes the outcome will not have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Intersegment Sales Investigations

On June 30, 2023, the Company received a voluntary document request from the SEC relating to intersegment sales between the Company’s Nutrition reporting segment and the Company’s Ag Services and Oilseeds and Carbohydrate Solutions reporting segments, and subsequently received additional document requests from the SEC. The Company is cooperating with the SEC. Following the Company’s January 21, 2024 announcement of the Investigation, the Company received document requests from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) focused primarily on the same subject matter, and the DOJ directed grand jury subpoenas to certain current and former Company employees. The Company is cooperating with the DOJ. The Company is unable to predict the final outcome of these investigations with any reasonable degree of certainty.

Shareholder Litigation

On January 24, 2024, following the Company’s January 21, 2024 announcement of the investigation relating to intersegment sales, a purported stockholder of the Company filed a putative class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the Company and its Chief Executive Officer, as well as Vikram Luthar and Ray Young. On June 24, 2024, the court-appointed lead plaintiffs filed an amended putative class action complaint against the Company, its Chief Executive Officer, as well as Vikram Luthar, Ray Young, and Vince Macciocchi. Plaintiffs allege false and misleading statements in the Company’s disclosures related to ADM’s Nutrition segment and seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Beginning on March 29, 2024, purported stockholders of the Company filed four derivative lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, against the Chief Executive Officer, Vikram Luthar, Ray Young, and certain individual current and former ADM Directors, alleging false and misleading statements in the Company’s proxy statements, breach of fiduciary duty, and corporate waste, among other claims, and seeking unspecified damages. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed one of the derivative complaints; the remainder have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the plaintiffs’ amended complaint is due September 13, 2024. The Company is unable to predict the final outcome of these proceedings with any reasonable degree of certainty.