Darling Ingredients has had an impressive run over the past six months as its shares have beaten the S&P 500 by 12.4%. The stock now trades at $63.33, marking a 25.9% gain. This run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.

Is it too late to buy DAR? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.

Why Does DAR Stock Spark Debate?

Turning what others consider waste into valuable resources, Darling Ingredients (NYSE: DAR) collects and transforms animal by-products, used cooking oil, and other bio-nutrients into valuable ingredients for food, feed, fuel, and industrial applications.

Two Things to Like:

1. Operating Margin Rising, Profits Up

Operating margin is a key measure of profitability. Think of it as net income - the bottom line - excluding the impact of taxes and interest on debt, which are less connected to business fundamentals.

Looking at the trend in its profitability, Darling Ingredients’s operating margin rose by 9.5 percentage points over the last year, showing its efficiency has meaningfully improved. . Its operating margin for the trailing 12 months was 14.5%.

2. Increasing Free Cash Flow Margin Juices Financials

If you’ve followed StockStory for a while, you know we emphasize free cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end, cash is king, and you can’t use accounting profits to pay the bills.

As you can see below, Darling Ingredients’s margin expanded by 3.8 percentage points over the last year. This is encouraging because it gives the company more optionality. Darling Ingredients’s free cash flow margin for the trailing 12 months was 13.5%.

One Reason to Be Careful:

Revenue Spiraling Downwards

Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Darling Ingredients’s demand was weak over the last three years as its sales fell at a 2.5% annual rate. This wasn’t a great result, but there are still things to like about Darling Ingredients.

Final Judgment

Darling Ingredients has huge potential even though it has some open questions, and with its shares topping the market in recent months, the stock trades at 10.1× forward P/E (or $63.33 per share). Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.

Stocks We Like Even More Than Darling Ingredients

ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.

Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.

Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.