# Cargill vs Constellation

## **Revenue and Scale Comparison**

**Cargill is approximately 14-15 times larger by revenue:**

* Cargill’s annual revenue was $154 billion for fiscal year 2025 (ended May 2025)
* Constellation Software’s TTM revenue is $10.74 billion USD as of September 2025

**Historical Context:**

* Cargill generated revenue of about $177 billion in 2023 (record year)
* Cargill reported $160 billion in 2024, close to a 10% drop from the previous year
* Cargill’s 2025 revenue of $154 billion represents a 4-year low, continuing a decline from recent peaks

## **Market Position and Global Reach**

**Cargill’s Dominant Physical Presence:** Cargill is “the largest privately held company in the United States in terms of revenue” and operates globally in around 70 countries with more than 155,000 employees . It “handles a quarter of all U.S. grain exports, produces more than 20 percent of U.S. beef and pork” .

**Constellation Software’s Specialized Niche:** Constellation Software has over 64,000 employees and has acquired over 500 businesses since being founded , but operates in software rather than physical commodities.

## **Fundamental Business Model Differences**

**Different Industries, Different Roles:**

1. **Cargill** operates in physical agricultural commodities - it actually moves, processes, and trades the grain, livestock, and food products
2. **Constellation/Cultura/Greenstone** provides the **software systems** that companies like Cargill (and Cargill’s competitors) use to manage their operations

## **Relationship in the Agricultural Ecosystem**

**Cargill as Customer, Not Competitor:** The relationship is more complementary than competitive. Greenstone’s AGRIS is “the most widely used ERP system in the U.S. grain industry” , meaning companies like Cargill likely use or could use Greenstone’s software to manage their operations.

**Infrastructure vs. Operations:**

* **Cargill:** Has 196 facilities with 348 million bushels of licensed storage in North America, making it the third-largest grain handling company
* **Greenstone/Cultura:** Provides the software that manages those facilities

## **Growth Trajectories**

**Contrasting Recent Performance:**

* **Cargill:** Revenue declining for two consecutive years, down from $177B (2023) to $154B (2025), amid “weaker commodity prices”
* **Constellation:** Growing revenue from $8.40 billion (2023) to $10.06 billion (2024) to $10.74 billion (TTM)

## **World Economy Position**

**Scale in Global Context:**

* **Cargill:** Among the world’s largest private companies by revenue, with massive physical infrastructure controlling significant portions of global food supply chains
* **Constellation/Cultura/Greenstone:** Ranks 8th-11th among global software brands but represents a much smaller absolute economic impact

**Strategic Importance:** While Cargill is vastly larger, Constellation’s agricultural software portfolio (particularly Greenstone) holds **critical infrastructure-level importance** - they provide the technological backbone that enables companies like Cargill to operate efficiently. This creates a different but strategically vital role in the global food system.

In essence, you’re comparing a massive physical commodity giant (Cargill) with a specialized technology company (Constellation) that provides essential software tools to agricultural companies. Cargill moves the grain; Greenstone provides the software that tracks, manages, and accounts for it.
