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Side-by-side financial comparison of DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. (DAR) and PLEXUS CORP (PLXS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

DARLING INGREDIENTS INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.6B vs $1.2B, roughly 1.3× PLEXUS CORP). PLEXUS CORP runs the higher net margin — 4.3% vs 1.2%, a 3.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PLEXUS CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (18.7% vs 10.0%). Over the past eight quarters, PLEXUS CORP's revenue compounded faster (7.2% CAGR vs -1.6%).

Darling Ingredients Inc. is a global sustainable natural ingredients maker that converts edible and inedible organic byproducts into high-value products: food-grade nutritional ingredients, animal feed additives, pharmaceutical raw materials and biofuel components, serving food, agriculture, pharma and renewable energy markets across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Plex Systems, Inc. is an American software company based in Troy, Michigan. The company develops and markets the Plex Manufacturing Cloud, a software as a service (SaaS) or cloud computing ERP for manufacturing.

DAR vs PLXS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
DAR
DAR
1.3× larger
DAR
$1.6B
$1.2B
PLXS
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PLXS
PLXS
+8.7% gap
PLXS
18.7%
10.0%
DAR
Higher net margin
PLXS
PLXS
3.0% more per $
PLXS
4.3%
1.2%
DAR
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PLXS
PLXS
Annualised
PLXS
7.2%
-1.6%
DAR

Income Statement — Q3 FY2025 vs Q2 FY2026

Metric
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Revenue
$1.6B
$1.2B
Net Profit
$19.4M
$49.8M
Gross Margin
24.7%
10.2%
Operating Margin
4.6%
5.3%
Net Margin
1.2%
4.3%
Revenue YoY
10.0%
18.7%
Net Profit YoY
14.2%
27.5%
EPS (diluted)
$0.12
$1.82

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$1.1B
Q3 25
$1.6B
Q2 25
$1.5B
Q1 25
$1.4B
Q4 24
$1.4B
Q3 24
$1.4B
Q2 24
$1.5B
Q1 24
$1.4B
Net Profit
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$41.2M
Q3 25
$19.4M
Q2 25
$12.7M
Q1 25
$-26.2M
Q4 24
$101.9M
Q3 24
$16.9M
Q2 24
$78.9M
Q1 24
$81.2M
Gross Margin
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
9.9%
Q3 25
24.7%
Q2 25
23.3%
Q1 25
22.6%
Q4 24
23.5%
Q3 24
22.1%
Q2 24
22.5%
Q1 24
21.4%
Operating Margin
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
5.1%
Q3 25
4.6%
Q2 25
5.1%
Q1 25
2.1%
Q4 24
8.6%
Q3 24
4.2%
Q2 24
10.2%
Q1 24
9.7%
Net Margin
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
3.8%
Q3 25
1.2%
Q2 25
0.9%
Q1 25
-1.9%
Q4 24
7.2%
Q3 24
1.2%
Q2 24
5.4%
Q1 24
5.7%
EPS (diluted)
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$1.51
Q3 25
$0.12
Q2 25
$0.08
Q1 25
$-0.16
Q4 24
$0.63
Q3 24
$0.11
Q2 24
$0.49
Q1 24
$0.50

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$91.5M
$303.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$4.0B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.7B
$1.5B
Total Assets
$10.5B
$3.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.86×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$248.8M
Q3 25
$91.5M
Q2 25
$94.6M
Q1 25
$81.5M
Q4 24
$76.0M
Q3 24
$114.8M
Q2 24
$121.6M
Q1 24
$145.5M
Total Debt
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
Q3 25
$4.0B
Q2 25
$3.9B
Q1 25
$3.8B
Q4 24
$3.9B
Q3 24
$4.1B
Q2 24
$4.3B
Q1 24
$4.4B
Stockholders' Equity
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$1.5B
Q3 25
$4.7B
Q2 25
$4.6B
Q1 25
$4.4B
Q4 24
$4.4B
Q3 24
$4.6B
Q2 24
$4.5B
Q1 24
$4.6B
Total Assets
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
$3.2B
Q3 25
$10.5B
Q2 25
$10.3B
Q1 25
$10.0B
Q4 24
$10.1B
Q3 24
$10.6B
Q2 24
$10.6B
Q1 24
$10.9B
Debt / Equity
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
Q3 25
0.86×
Q2 25
0.85×
Q1 25
0.86×
Q4 24
0.89×
Q3 24
0.91×
Q2 24
0.97×
Q1 24
0.95×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$224.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
11.59×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
Q3 25
$224.3M
Q2 25
$145.8M
Q1 25
$249.0M
Q4 24
$154.4M
Q3 24
$274.5M
Q2 24
$146.5M
Q1 24
$263.9M
Cash Conversion
DAR
DAR
PLXS
PLXS
Q1 26
Q3 25
11.59×
Q2 25
11.52×
Q1 25
Q4 24
1.52×
Q3 24
16.19×
Q2 24
1.86×
Q1 24
3.25×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

DAR
DAR

Fats$428.4M27%
Food Ingredients$380.6M24%
Diamond Green Diesel Holdings Llc Joint Venture$342.1M22%
Fuel Ingredients$154.3M10%
Used Cooking Oil$125.9M8%
Other Rendering$76.9M5%
Bakery$46.9M3%
Other Products And Services$12.2M1%

PLXS
PLXS

Asia-Pacific$652.0M56%
Americas$397.0M34%
Europe, Middle East and Africa$116.0M10%

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