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Financial performance of publicly‐traded agribusinesses

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  • Ani L. Katchova
  • Sierra J. Enlow

Abstract

Purpose - Agribusinesses represent a fundamental link in connecting farmers with retailers and consumers, yet little research has been done to examine the historical financial performance of these food processing firms. This paper aims to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach - The authors' research examines how publicly‐traded agribusinesses perform financially compared to all firms over the period from 1961 to 2011. The authors utilize several indicators of company success, including financial ratios and balance sheet/income statement items, to compare agribusiness firms to all firms in the market. The authors perform the analysis over time and also for companies with low, median, and high performance. They also perform Du Pont analysis to compare return on equity components between agribusinesses and all firms. Findings - The authors find that agribusinesses outperform at the median the sample of all firms in terms of financial ratios related to profitability, liquidity, and market ratios, but have slightly lower liquidity and debt ratios. The Du Pont analysis shows that the higher return on equity for agribusinesses is mostly due to higher asset turnover ratios, indicating higher operating efficiency of agribusinesses. The strong financial performance of food manufacturing agribusinesses makes them valuable companies in an investment portfolio. Originality/value - This study provides a basic overview of financial ratios used to examine the financial performance of publicly‐traded agribusinesses. The authors' findings show that agribusinesses outperform all firms in terms of key financial indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Ani L. Katchova & Sierra J. Enlow, 2013. "Financial performance of publicly‐traded agribusinesses," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 73(1), pages 58-73, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:afrpps:v:73:y:2013:i:1:p:58-73
    DOI: 10.1108/00021461311321311
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    1. Pokharel, Krishna & Archer, David W. & Featherstone, Allen M., 2018. "The Impact of Size and Specialization on the Financial Performance of Agricultural Cooperatives," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274109, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Khaled Aljifri & Hafiz Imtiaz Ahmad, 2019. "Preferred Valuation Techniques in the UAE: A Comparative Study of Financial and Nonfinancial Sectors," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(1), pages 51-59.
    3. Bunea, Ovidiu-Iulian & Corbos, Razvan-Andrei & Popescu, Ruxandra-Irina, 2019. "Influence of some financial indicators on return on equity ratio in the Romanian energy sector - A competitive approach using a DuPont-based analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    4. Carlos J. O. Trejo‐Pech & Michael A. Gunderson & Dayton M. Lambert, 2021. "Mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. agribusiness sector, 1990–2017," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 713-730, October.
    5. Veselinović, Branislav & Drobnjaković, Maja, 2014. "Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Micro And Macro Aspects Of Agricultural Finance," Economics of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Carlos J.O. Trejo-Pech & Richard N. Weldon & Michael A. Gunderson, 2016. "Earnings Management through Specific Accruals and Discretionary Expenses: Evidence from U.S. Agribusiness Firms," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 64(1), pages 89-118, March.
    7. Elżbieta Kacperska & Jakub Kraciuk, 2021. "Changes in the Stock Market of Food Industry Companies during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Comparative Analysis of Poland and Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, November.
    8. Suchismita Ghosh & Ritu Pareek & Tarak Nath Sahu, 2024. "Do Carbon Performance and Disclosure Practices Effect Companies’ Financial Performance: A Non-Linear Perspective," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 31(3), pages 733-754, September.
    9. Bereznicka, Joanna, 2018. "Sources of return on equity in economically diversified agriculture of the European Union countries," Problems of Agricultural Economics / Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej 276626, Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics - National Research Institute (IAFE-NRI).
    10. Brenes, Esteban R. & Ciravegna, Luciano & Pichardo, Caleb A., 2019. "Managing institutional voids: A configurational approach to understanding high performance antecedents," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 345-358.
    11. Julia Höhler & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2021. "Measuring the impact of COVID‐19 on stock prices and profits in the food supply chain," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(1), pages 171-186, January.
    12. Lehenchuk, Serhii & Raboshuk, Alina & Zhyhlei, Iryna & Zakharov, Dmytro & Fedoryshyna, Lidiia, 2023. "Financial performance determinants of Ukrainian agricultural companies in the pre-war period," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 9(4), December.
    13. Irena Jindřichovská & Dana Kubíčková & Mihaela Mocanu, 2020. "Case Study Analysis of Sustainability Reporting of an Agri-Food Giant," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, June.
    14. Dirk Beyer & Jana Hinke, 2020. "European benchmarking of determinants of profitability for companies with accrual accounting in the agricultural sector," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 66(11), pages 477-488.
    15. Sakchai Naknok, 2022. "Firm Performance Indicators as a Fundamental Analysis of Stocks and a Determinant of a Firm’s Operation," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 190-213.
    16. Noxolo Kunene & Yessica C.Y. Chung, 2020. "Sustainable Production Policy Impact on Palm Oil Firms’ Performance: Empirical Analysis from Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Lehenchuk, Serhii & Raboshuk, Alina & Zhyhlei, Iryna & Zakharov, Dmytro & Fedoryshyna, Lidiia, 2023. "Financial Performance Determinants of Ukrainian Agricultural Companies in the Pre-War Period," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 9(4), January.
    18. Carlos J. O. Trejo-Pech & Karen L. DeLong & Dayton M. Lambert & Vasileios Siokos, 2020. "The impact of US sugar prices on the financial performance of US sugar-using firms," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, December.

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