Cargill Inc. said Wednesday it will stop reporting quarterly results, ending a routine it started 24 years ago even though private companies like it aren't required to make such disclosures.
The Minnetonka-based agricultural products and trading company, the nation's largest private firm by revenue, said it will instead release an annual statement showing its revenue and a few other financial measures. It will start with a statement in July for its fiscal year that ended Sunday.
"Short-term financial performance — especially in volatile commodities markets — doesn't reflect our long-term focus, nor is it representative of where we are going," the company said in a statement.
Cargill said the decision has been a long time in the making and didn't reflect any recent issues with its financial performance and operations. The company's beef unit faced scrutiny in recent weeks after coronavirus outbreaks at plants in the U.S. and Canada. It did not issue a statement this spring for its fiscal third quarter that ended in February.
The company's quarterly disclosures have been limited to overall sales and profit and swings in operating profit of its major business units. It didn't publish income statements and balance sheets as publicly traded companies do.
While the company's equity is held by descendants of its founder, it issues bonds. As a result, it makes financial disclosures to bondholders and government regulators — and Cargill said it will continue to do that.
"We understand they need to know they are working with a financially sound, responsible company and we will continue to share the level of financial information they need," the company's statement said.
The company said it remains committed to organic growth, meaning growth not attributed to acquisitions, to build revenue that is now around $120 billion a year.
"We will hold ourselves accountable," its statement said. "We will remain transparent about what we do and how we do it."
