Ingredion reported a 2% decline in fourth-quarter net sales compared with the prior year, driven by lower volumes across its Food & Industrial Ingredients (F&II) segments and a 1% unfavorable price/mix impact. Despite the sales downturn, reported operating income rose 36% year-over-year to $220 million, reflecting a 31% increase on a constant‐currency basis. Texture & Healthful Solutions saw a modest 1% net sales decrease but maintained strong operational profitability, while the LATAM F&II segment delivered a 2% operating income gain, supported by favorable input costs and currency benefits. Conversely, the U.S./Canada F&II segment experienced a 32% drop in segment operating income, primarily due to production challenges at a major facility and softer beverage volumes, resulting in a 9% decline in net sales.

For full-year 2026, Ingredion set a conservative reported EPS range of $11.00 to $11.80 and forecasted low-to-mid single-digit net sales growth, along with modest operating income improvement. The company emphasized its healthy cash flow, having generated $944 million from operations in 2025 and returned $435 million to shareholders through dividends and $224 million in share repurchases. Management reaffirmed disciplined capital allocation, prioritizing debt reduction, strategic acquisitions in high-growth segments, and continued share buybacks to enhance long-term shareholder value.

Ingredion’s Cost 2 Compete initiative delivered tangible savings in the quarter through restructuring actions and process optimizations, contributing to the outperformance in operating leverage. The company also completed specialty starch modernization upgrades at its Indianapolis plant, boosting reliability and capacity for texture solutions. R&D efforts remain focused on clean‐label and plant‐based ingredients, with several pilot-scale launches scheduled in the next 12 months. These innovation investments are expected to drive future margin expansion by capturing premium pricing on differentiated products and responding to growing consumer demand for healthful, sustainable ingredients.