Cargill Internal Memo Reveals Company’s Structural Overhaul

Global trading house Cargill will undergo structural changes after missing internal earnings goals, with plans to streamline operations from five units into three, according to an internal company document seen by Reuters and confirmed by two company sources, as reported by Any Kv and Naveen Thukral.

Beginning September 1, Cargill will reorganize from five enterprises into three: Food, Ag & Trading, and a Specialized Portfolio. I Photo: Asher Heimermann Wikimedia Commons

Agricultural merchants like the privately held Cargill are facing challenges as the prices of the commodity crops they trade approach four-year lows and crop processing margins decline.

"Our recent performance and the market trends unfolding in front of us have proven a clear and pressing case for change," read the memo sent to staff by Cargill CEO Brian Sikes on Wednesday.

Beginning September 1, Cargill will reorganize from five enterprises into three: Food, Ag & Trading, and a Specialized Portfolio, the memo stated.

A Cargill spokesperson told Reuters that the company has laid out a clear plan to evolve and strengthen its portfolio. Cargill's competitors, Archer-Daniels-Midland and Bunge Global, recently missed Wall Street estimates for second-quarter earnings.

Cargill does not publicly release quarterly earnings statements. The memo indicated that less than a third of Cargill's businesses met their earnings goals in the fiscal year 2024.