What changed in this filing

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Item 1. Business

2026-03-13 compared with 2025-03-13 · 269 added, 262 removed, 395 unchanged (57% of the section changed)

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350 million gallons combined of our own produced alcohols as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third parties, and over 1.2 million

tons of essential ingredients on a dry matter basis.

tons of essential ingredients.

We also own and operate a liquid carbon dioxide,

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to liquid CO 2 and subsequent sale.

We acquired this facility on January 1, 2025.

In addition, we break bulk and distribute

specialty alcohols, produced by us and third parties, through our Eagle Alcohol business.

specialty alcohols, produced by us and third parties.

We report our financial and operating performance

in three distinct segments:

production , which includes the production and sale of alcohols and essential ingredients

produced at our three production facilities located in Pekin, Illinois, which we refer to

as our Pekin Campus;

and distribution , which includes marketing and merchant trading for company-produced

● Pekin production , which includes the production and sale of alcohols and other products we refer to as “essential

ingredients” described below, produced at our three production facilities located in Pekin, Illinois, which we refer to as our Pekin

● Marketing and

distribution , which includes marketing and merchant trading for company-produced

alcohols and essential ingredients on an aggregated basis, and sales of fuel-grade ethanol

sourced from third parties;

production , which includes the production and sale of renewable fuels and essential

ingredients and, beginning in 2025, liquid CO 2, produced at our western production

facilities, including our liquid CO 2 plant, on an aggregated basis, none of which

are individually so significant as to be considered a separately reportable segment.

● Western production , which includes the production and sale of renewable fuels and

essential ingredients produced at our Western production facilities, including our liquid CO 2 plant, on an aggregated

basis, none of which are individually so significant as to be considered a separately reportable segment.

Our mission is to produce the highest quality,

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Production Segments

We produce specialty alcohols, renewable

fuels and essential ingredients, focusing on five key markets:

We produce specialty

alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients, focusing on five key markets:

Health, Home & Beauty ;

Food & Beverage ;

& Agriculture ;

Industry & Agriculture ;

Essential Ingredients ;

and Renewable Fuels .

Products for Health, Home & Beauty

markets include specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and cleaners.

Products for Food & Beverage markets include grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar and corn germ

used for corn oils.

Products for Industry & Agriculture markets include alcohols and other products for paint

applications, vehicle fluids and fertilizers.

Products for Essential Ingredients markets include dried yeast, corn protein

meal, corn protein feed, corn germ, distillers grains, liquid CO 2 and liquid feed used in commercial animal feed and pet

We also sell yeast and liquid CO 2 for human consumption.

Our products for the Renewable Fuels markets

include fuel-grade ethanol and distillers corn oil used as a feedstock for renewable diesel and biodiesel fuels.

Our specialty

alcohols for the Industry & Agriculture, Food & Beverage and Health, Home & Beauty markets represented

approximately 12%, 7% and 3%, respectively, of our sales in 2024 from these three markets.

Products for Health,

Home & Beauty markets include specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers,

disinfectants and cleaners.

Products for Food & Beverage markets include grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic

beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used for corn oils.

Products for Industry & Agriculture markets include

alcohols and other products for paint applications, inks, vehicle fluids and fertilizers.

Products for Essential Ingredients

markets include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, corn germ, distillers grains, gas and liquid CO 2 and

liquid feed used in commercial animal feed and pet foods.

We also sell yeast and gas and liquid CO 2 for human

Our products for the Renewable Fuels markets include fuel-grade ethanol and distillers corn oil used as a

feedstock for renewable diesel and biodiesel fuels.

Our specialty alcohols for the Industry & Agriculture, Food &

Beverage and Health, Home & Beauty markets represented approximately 11%, 6% and 2%, respectively, of our sales in

2025 to customers in these three markets.

We produce our alcohols and essential ingredients

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All of our production facilities, other than our

Magic Valley plant, were operating for all of 2024, subject to scheduled and unscheduled downtimes to address facility repair and maintenance.

In January 2024, we temporarily hot-idled our

Magic Valley facility to minimize losses from negative regional crush margins and to expedite the installation of additional equipment

to achieve the intended production rate, quality and consistency from our corn oil and high protein system at the facility.

our Magic Valley facility in July 2024 and by October 2024, the facility consistently achieved average ethanol production rates at full

capacity, the protein content yield from the plant reached 50% or greater, and we were able to expand our corn oil yields.

in regional corn basis and declining market prices for protein and corn oil resulted in overall margin compression, outweighing the economic

benefits of our plant improvements.

As a consequence, we cold-idled our Magic Valley facility on December 31, 2024 to minimize financial

We continue to provide terminal services at the plant and intend to resume operations at the facility when the economic environment

in the region sustainably improves.

We believe that the cold-idling of our Magic Valley facility will have a positive impact on our overall

financial results in 2025 compared to 2024.

Magic Valley plant, were operating for all of 2025, other than for scheduled and unscheduled downtimes to address facility repair and

In January 2024, we

temporarily hot-idled our Magic Valley facility to minimize losses from negative regional crush margins and to expedite the

installation of additional equipment to achieve the intended production rate, quality and consistency from our corn oil and high

protein system at the facility.

We restarted our Magic Valley facility in July 2024 and by October 2024, the facility consistently

achieved average ethanol production rates at full capacity, the protein content yield from the plant reached 50% or greater, and we

were able to expand our corn oil yields.

Increases in regional corn basis and declining market prices for protein and corn oil

resulted in overall margin compression, outweighing the economic benefits of our plant improvements.

As a consequence, we cold-idled

our Magic Valley facility for all of 2025 and through the filing of this report to minimize financial losses.

We continue to provide

ethanol terminaling services at the plant and may resume operations at the facility if the economic environment in the region

sustainably improves.

As market conditions change, we may increase,

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We have extensive and long-standing customer relationships,

both domestic and international, for our specialty alcohols and essential ingredients.

both domestic and international, for our specialty alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients.

These customers include producers and distributors

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Company History

We are a Delaware corporation formed in 2005.

Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALTO.” Our Internet website address is http://www.altoingredients.com.

Information contained on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports

on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission

and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable

after the reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We are a Delaware corporation

formed in 2005.

Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALTO.” Our Internet website address

is http://www.altoingredients.com.

In formation contained on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports filed with or furnished

to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings are available free of charge through our

website as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange

Business Strategy

The key elements of our business and growth strategy

on our customer relationships.

Our primary business focus is to expand the production

and sale of specialty alcohols and essential ingredients.

Our business is now more service-oriented

and focused on specialty products that yield premium prices compared to commodity products

that yield predominantly passive, market-driven prices.

We strive to make our business ever

more customer-centric to enable our premium services to support premium prices and new differentiated

and higher-margin products.

carbon capture and storage at our Pekin Campus, lowering our carbon footprint .

The Inflation

Reduction Act of 2022 raised the carbon capture tax credit to $85 per metric ton, reflecting

the section 45Q tax incentive benefits established under the Act.

Section 45Z low carbon

fuel tax credits are also available under the Act.

We produce over 600,000 metric tons of

CO 2 per year at our Pekin Campus, which sits atop the Mount Simon formation, identified

as one of the best and largest carbon storage locations in the country.

We are prioritizing

our carbon capture and storage, or CCS, project over other long-term capital projects.

believe the financial benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act and the substantial additional

economic benefits of the environmental attributes associated with low carbon ethanol will

result in excellent returns on investment.

In furtherance of this project, in November 2024,

we entered into a CO 2 Transportation and Sequestration Agreement with Vault 44.01, or Vault,

to provide transportation, injection and sequestration into the Mount Simon sandstone formation

in Illinois of CO 2 produced at our Pekin Campus.

In December, Vault submitted the formal application to the EPA for

our CCS project to obtain the Class VI permit required to begin construction of the CCS pipeline and for long-term CO 2 storage in deep

geological formations.

product offerings.

We are pursuing initiatives to broaden our product offerings to appeal

to a wider range of customers and uses in our key markets.

For example, on January 1, 2025,

we acquired a liquid CO 2 production facility located adjacent to our Oregon plant

and now offer liquid CO 2 for sale.

Our liquid CO 2 facility and our

food-grade yeast plant are both FSSC 22000 certified, meeting the Global Food Safety Initiative

(GFSI) benchmarking requirements.

In addition, we maintain ISO 9001, ICH Q7 and EXCiPACT

certifications for all United States Pharmacopia, or USP, grade alcohol products.

These certifications

appeal to customers with stringent quality demands and enable us to offer alcohol certified

for use as an active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, and as an excipient—an inactive

component of a drug or medication, such as solvents, carriers or tinctures—in the pharmaceutical

All ingredients we produce for use in beverages, human and pet foods are third-party

certified for ISO 9001 and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP).

all of our animal feed production, including at our Oregon and Idaho facilities, has undergone

third-party Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) auditing.

We are reviewing additional certifications

and product positioning within our key markets to expand the range of customers we serve

and the uses our products support.

new equipment and technologies.

We are evaluating and plan to implement new equipment

and technologies to increase our production yields, improve our operating efficiencies and

reliability, reduce our overall carbon footprint, diversify our products and revenues, and

increase our profitability as financial resources and market conditions Left these investments.

● Evaluate and pursue strategic opportunities .

We are exploring opportunities to expand our business.

For example, when the

opportunity arose, we moved quickly to acquire the liquid CO 2 production facility adjacent to our Oregon plant and

establish an improved, long-term liquid CO 2 sales agreement with a leading reseller of liquid CO 2 .

to pursue these and other strategic opportunities as financial resources and business prospects make these opportunities desirable.

We are also exploring divestiture opportunities for certain properties in an ongoing effort to continue to optimize our asset

portfolio and as part of our ongoing efforts to maximize shareholder value.

For example, we have engaged an investment banking firm

to explore the sale of our production facilities located in Oregon and Idaho.

In addition, with the assistance of our financial and legal advisors, we are considering a broad range of other

options, including asset sales, a merger or other strategic transactions to better align our long-term value potential.

● Pursue further carbon strategies.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, taken together

with more recent changes made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the carbon capture

tax credit to $85 per metric ton, providing enhanced section 45Q incentives for carbon capture,

utilization, and storage projects, or CCUS.

Additionally, section 45Z low carbon fuel tax

credits offer significant advantages for facilities like ours by directly incentivizing the

production of fuels with reduced lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.

The section 45Z tax credit rewards

producers for each gallon of qualifying low carbon fuel sold, making projects that lower

the carbon intensity of their products more financially attractive.

our Columbia facility, we produce over 120,000 metric tons of CO 2 gas per year.

Currently, we sell approximately 57,000 tons per year to our customers and we are exploring

ways to enhance CO 2 capture during truck loading and expand production through

increased storage capacity at our liquid CO 2 plant.

our Pekin Campus, we produce over 600,000 metric tons of CO 2 gas per year.

we sell approximately 190,000 tons of CO 2 annually with capacity for further

growth, positioning us to optimize tax advantages and improve project economics.

We are assessing

large scale CO 2 utilization and sequestration opportunities and developing plans

to capture more value for our CO 2 .

believe leveraging these incentives not only enhances project returns but also helps secure long-term market competitiveness as

clean fuel standards become more prevalent.

By prioritizing CCUS initiatives, we can further reduce our carbon footprint, strengthen

our leadership in sustainable fuel production, and generate new revenue streams that support ongoing innovation and growth.

believe the financial benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the substantial additional

economic benefits of the environmental attributes associated with low carbon ethanol will result in excellent returns on

● Focus on our customer

relationships.

Our primary business focus is to expand the production and sale of specialty

alcohols and essential ingredients.

We are service-oriented and focus our efforts on specialty

products that yield premium prices compared to commodity products that yield predominantly

passive, market-driven prices.

We strive to make our business ever more customer-centric

to enable our premium services to support premium prices and new differentiated and higher-margin

● Expand product offerings.

We are pursuing initiatives to broaden our product offerings to appeal to a wider range

of customers and uses in our key markets.

For example, in 2025, we acquired a

liquid CO 2 production facility located adjacent to our Oregon plant and now offer

liquid CO 2 for sale.

Our liquid CO 2 facility and our food-grade yeast

plant are both FSSC 22000 certified, meeting the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarking

requirements.

In addition, we maintain ISO 9001, ICH Q7 and EXCiPACT certifications for the

facilities and quality systems used to produce all United States Pharmacopeia, or USP, grade

alcohol products.

These certifications appeal to customers with stringent quality demands

and enable us to offer alcohol certified for use as an active pharmaceutical ingredient,

or API, and as an excipient—an inactive component of a drug or medication, such as

solvents, carriers or tinctures—in the pharmaceutical industry.

All ingredients we

produce for use in beverages, human and pet foods are third-party certified for ISO 9001

and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

In addition, all of our animal feed

production, including at our Oregon and Idaho facilities, has undergone third-party Food

Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) auditing.

We are reviewing additional certifications and

product positioning within our key markets to expand the range of customers we serve and

the uses our products support.

● Implement new equipment

and technologies.

We are evaluating and plan to implement new equipment and technologies

to increase our production yields, improve our operating efficiencies and reliability, reduce

our overall carbon footprint, diversify our products and revenues, and increase our profitability

as financial resources and market conditions justify these investments.

Competitive Strengths

We believe that our competitive strengths include:

customer and supplier relationships .

We have strong, extensive and long-standing close customer and supplier relationships, both

domestic and international, for our specialty alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients.

We have an excellent reputation for

developing specialty alcohols under stringent quality control standards.

Our quality management systems are supported by ISO 9001, FSSC

22000, ICH Q7 and EXCiPACT certifications which are viewed by our customers as important attestations of our quality control.

product mix .

We offer a wide range of specialty alcohols, essential ingredients and other

products to meet customer demand.

● Strong customer

and supplier relationships .

We have strong, extensive and long-standing close customer

and supplier relationships, both domestic and international, for our specialty alcohols,

renewable fuels and essential ingredients.

We have an excellent reputation for developing

specialty alcohols under stringent quality control standards.

Our quality management systems

are supported by ISO 9001, FSSC 22000, ICH Q7 and EXCiPACT certifications, which are viewed

by our customers as important attestations of our quality control .

● Diverse product

We offer a wide range of specialty alcohols, essential ingredients and other products

to meet customer demand.

We offer multiple alcohol quality grades ranging from industrial-grade

alcohol to the highest beverage grade low moisture 200 proof alcohol available.

We also offer

a wide variety of essential ingredients and other products for food, feed and other markets.

Our production facilities use specialized equipment, technologies and processes

to achieve stringent quality controls, higher yields and efficient production of alcohols

and essential ingredients.

Our specialized equipment, technologies and processes, together

with our quality management certifications, strict regulatory requirements, and close customer

and supplier relationships create significant barriers to entry to new market participants.

experienced management .

Our senior management team has a proven track record with significant

operational and financial expertise and many years of experience in the alcohol production

Our senior executives have successfully navigated a wide variety of business and

industry-specific challenges and deeply understand the business of successfully producing

and marketing specialty alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients.

strategic location of our Midwest production facilities .

We operate three distinct but

integrated production facilities at our Pekin Campus in the Midwest.

We are able to participate

from that location in the largest regional specialty alcohol market in the United States

as well as international markets.

◾ We believe that our

Midwest location enhances our overall hedging opportunities with a greater correlation to

the highly liquid physical and paper markets in Chicago.

◾ Our Midwest location

provides excellent logistical access via rail, truck and barge.

In particular, barge access

via the Illinois River to the Mississippi River enables us to efficiently bring our products

to international markets.

◾ The relatively unique

wet milling process at one of our production facilities at our Pekin Campus allows us to

extract the highest use and value from each component of the corn kernel.

As a result, the

wet milling process generates a higher level of cost recovery from corn than that produced

at a dry mill.

◾ Our Midwest location

allows us deep market insight and engagement in major specialty alcohol, fuel-grade ethanol,

pet food and feed markets, thereby improving pricing opportunities.

◾ Our Midwest location

sits atop the Mount Simon formation, identified as one of the best and largest carbon storage

locations in the country potentially allowing us to benefit from this close proximity to

we offer renewable fuel, including International Sustainability and Carbon Certification,

or ISCC, fuel-grade ethanol for export to Europe.

We also offer a wide variety of essential

ingredients and other products for food, feed and other markets.

● Barriers to entry .

Our production facilities use specialized equipment, technologies and processes to achieve

stringent quality controls, higher yields and efficient production of alcohols and essential

Our specialized equipment, technologies and processes, together with our quality

management certifications, strict regulatory requirements, and close customer and supplier

relationships create significant barriers to entry to new market participants.

● Our experienced

Our senior management team has a proven track record with significant operational

and financial expertise and many years of experience in the alcohol production industry.

Our senior executives have successfully navigated a wide variety of business and industry-specific

challenges and deeply understand the business of successfully producing and marketing specialty

alcohols, renewable fuels and essential ingredients.

● The strategic location

of our Midwest production facilities .

We operate three distinct but integrated production

facilities at our Pekin Campus in the Midwest.

We are able to participate from that location

in the largest regional specialty alcohol market in the United States as well as international

believe that our Midwest location enhances our overall hedging opportunities with a greater

correlation to the highly liquid physical and paper markets in Chicago.

Midwest location provides excellent logistical access via rail, truck and barge.

In particular,

barge access via the Illinois River to the Mississippi River enables us to efficiently bring

our products to international markets.

relatively unique wet milling process at one of our production facilities at our Pekin Campus

allows us to extract the highest use and value from each component of the corn kernel.

a result, the wet milling process generates a higher level of cost recovery from corn than

that produced at a dry mill.

Midwest location allows us deep market insight and engagement in major specialty alcohol,

fuel-grade ethanol, pet food and feed markets, thereby improving pricing opportunities.

Overview of Our Key Markets and Market Opportunity

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Food & Beverage

Our products for the food and beverage market

include specialty alcohols used in alcoholic beverages, flavor extracts and vinegar as well as corn germ used for corn oils and CO 2

used for beverage carbonation and dry ice.

We offer grain neutral spirits, or GNS, alcohol as our primary specialty alcohol for

beverage-grade products.

Our products for the

food and beverage market include specialty alcohols used in alcoholic beverages, flavor extracts and vinegar as well as corn germ

used for corn oil and CO 2 gas used for beverage carbonation and dry ice.

We offer grain neutral spirits, or GNS, as our

primary specialty alcohol for beverage-grade products.

In addition, we sell FCC 190 and USP 190 Ultra into vinegar markets.

We also sell high-quality 192 proof and

low-moisture 200-proof GNS products to customers in the beverage, food, flavor and personal care industries.

sell high-quality 192 proof and low-moisture 200 proof GNS products to customers in the beverage, food, flavor and personal care

We believe the key drivers in the food and beverage

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improved consumer access to spirits products;

the growth of craft distillers;

and the ability to meet wide-ranging consumer

preferences through a broad diversity of spirits categories and cocktails.

and the ability to meet wide-ranging consumer preferences through a broad

diversity of spirits categories and cocktails.

Industry & Agriculture

Our products for the industry and agriculture

market include alcohols and other products for paint applications, vehicle fluids and fertilizers.

market include alcohols and other products for paint applications, inks, vehicle fluids and fertilizers.

Essential Ingredients

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we sell yeast for human consumption.

We also produce and sell liquid CO 2 .

We also produce and sell gas and liquid CO 2 .

The raw materials for our essential ingredients

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Our renewable fuels business is supported by our own production of fuel-grade ethanol as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third

Our renewable fuel products also include ISCC fuel-grade ethanol for export to Europe.

Renewable fuels, primarily fuel-grade ethanol,

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for conventional ethanol to 15.0 billion gallons for 2025.

The EPA has proposed annual requirements for conventional ethanol of 15.0

billion gallons for each of 2026 and 2027.

See “—Governmental Regulation.”

According to the Renewable Fuels Association,

the domestic fuel-grade ethanol industry produced over 16.1 billion gallons of ethanol in 2024, up from 15.5 billion gallons of ethanol

According to the United States Department of Energy, total annual gasoline consumption in the United States is approximately

137 billion gallons and total annual fuel-grade ethanol blended with gasoline represented approximately 10.4% of this amount in 2024.

We anticipate that continued limited opportunities for gasoline refinery expansions and the growing importance of reducing CO 2

emissions using renewable fuels will generate additional growth in the demand for fuel-grade ethanol.

the domestic fuel-grade ethanol industry produced approximately 16.4 billion gallons of ethanol in 2025, up from approximately 16.1 billion

gallons of ethanol in 2024.

According to the United States Department of Energy, total annual gasoline consumption in the United States

is approximately 137 billion gallons and total annual fuel-grade ethanol blended with gasoline represented approximately 10.5% of this

amount in 2025.

We anticipate that continued limited opportunities for gasoline refinery expansions and the growing importance of reducing

CO 2 emissions using renewable fuels will generate additional growth in the demand for fuel-grade ethanol.

Overview of Alcohol Production Process

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For specialty alcohols, the products can be

sold pure or as one of the Alcohol Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) approved specially denatured alcohol (SDA) formulations to meet

customer specifications.

sold pure or as one of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved specially denatured alcohol (SDA) formulations to

meet customer specifications.

The residual stillage is separated into a coarse

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concentrated in an evaporator and is co-dried with the fiber component and sold as corn protein feed.

The protein component is

separated from the starch, filtered and dried to produce corn protein meal, a product with greater than 60% protein content.

starch component is processed into alcohol through fermentation.

The fermentation process for alcohol at this stage is similar to

the dry milling process.

The protein component is separated

from the starch, filtered and dried to produce corn protein meal, a product with greater than 60% protein content.

The starch component

is processed into alcohol through fermentation.

The fermentation process for alcohol at this stage is similar to the dry milling process.

In addition, we separate and dry yeast to produce distillers yeast.

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of alcohol production and are valuable components of feed rations primarily to dairies and beef cattle markets, both nationally and internationally.

Our plants produce both WDGS and DDGS.

WDGS is sold to customers proximate to the plants and DDGS is delivered by truck, rail and barge

to customers in domestic and international markets.

Producing WDGS uses up to one-third less process energy, thus reducing production

costs and lowering the carbon footprint of our Western production facilities.

Our facilities produce both WDGS and DDGS.

WDGS is sold to customers proximate to the facilities and DDGS is delivered by truck, rail

and barge to customers in domestic and international markets.

Producing WDGS uses up to one-third less process energy, thus reducing

production costs and lowering the carbon footprint of our Western production facilities.

Historically, the market price for distillers

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segment sold an aggregate of approximately 208 million, 214 million and 209 million gallons of alcohols and 919,600, 906,300 and 878,400

tons of essential ingredients, respectively, on a dry matter basis.

Our Western production segment generated $115

million, $167 million and $254 million in net sales for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, from the sale

tons of essential ingredients, respectively.

Our Western production segment generated $67 million,

$115 million and $167 million in net sales for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, from the sale of alcohols.

Our Western production segment generated $32 million, $37 million and $57 million in net sales for the years ended December 31, 2025,

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segment sold an aggregate of approximately 33 million, 61 million and 67 million gallons of alcohols and 299,600, 514,600 and 642,300

tons of essential ingredients, respectively, on a dry matter basis.

tons of essential ingredients, respectively.

Our marketing and distribution segment generated

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88 customers, respectively.

For 2024, 2023 and 2022, sales to our two largest customers, Chevron Products USA and Shell Trading (US)

Company represented an aggregate of approximately 18%, 16% and 20% of our net sales, respectively.

For 2024, 2023 and 2022, sales to

each of our other customers represented less than 10% of our net sales.

For 2025, 2024 and 2023, sales to our largest customer, Chevron Products USA represented an aggregate of

approximately 9%, 11% and 9% of our net sales, respectively.

For 2025, 2024 and 2023, sales to each of our other customers represented

less than 10% of our net sales.

Pekin Campus and Western Production Segments

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During 2025, 2024 and 2023, purchases of corn

from our three largest suppliers represented an aggregate of approximately 29%, 26% and 38% of our total corn purchases, respectively,

from our two largest suppliers represented an aggregate of approximately 28%, 29% and 26% of our total corn purchases, respectively,

for those periods.

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During 2025, 2024 and 2023, purchases of fuel-grade

ethanol from our four largest third-party suppliers represented 79%, 86% and 69%, respectively, of our total third-party ethanol purchases

ethanol from our three largest third-party suppliers represented 74%, 79% and 86%, respectively, of our total third-party ethanol purchases

for each of those periods.

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in the United States.

Other significant producers of specialty

alcohols in the United States are Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Grain Processing Corporation, BioUrja Renewables, LLC, CIE and

Greenfield Global Inc., which collectively make up a significant majority of the total installed specialty alcohol production

capacity in the United States along with many smaller producers.

Other significant producers of specialty alcohols

in the United States are Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Grain Processing Corporation, Golden Triangle Energy, CIE and Greenfield Global

Together with many smaller producers, these companies account for a significant majority of the total installed specialty alcohol

production capacity in the United States.

The largest producers of fuel-grade ethanol in

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Overall, we believe there are over 190 fuel-grade ethanol production

facilities in the United States with a total installed production capacity of approximately 18 billion gallons and many brokers and marketers

with whom we compete for sales of fuel-grade ethanol and its co-products.

Our fuel-grade ethanol also competes on a global

facilities in the United States with a total installed production capacity of approximately 18.5 billion gallons and many brokers and

marketers with whom we compete for sales of fuel-grade ethanol and its co-products.

Our fuel-grade ethanol also competes in a global

market against production from other countries, such as Brazil, which may have lower production costs than United States producers.

feedstock input costs such as sugarcane used in Brazil as compared to corn used in the Unites States may give foreign producers a competitive

feedstock input costs such as sugarcane used in Brazil as compared to corn used in the United States may give foreign producers a competitive

In addition, fuel-grade ethanol from sugarcane feedstock qualifies as an advanced biofuel, unlike corn ethanol, allowing certain

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our customer and supplier relationships, our diverse product mix, the barriers to entry to our most profitable lines of business—including

our certifications at our production facilities—our experienced management, and the strategic location

of our Midwest production facilities.

our certifications at our production facilities—our experienced management, and the strategic location of our Midwest production

See “—Competitive Strengths.”

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These laws, their underlying regulatory requirements and their potential enforcement, some of which are described below,

impact, or may impact, nearly every aspect of our operations, including our alcohol production (including distillation), our liquid CO 2

production, our essential ingredient production, our storage facilities, and our water usage, wastewater discharge, disposal of

hazardous wastes and emissions, and other matters pertaining to our existing and proposed business by imposing:

● restrictions

on our existing and proposed operations and/or the need to install enhanced or additional

requirements applicable to food and drug additives;

need to obtain and comply with permits and authorizations;

for exceeding applicable permit limits or legal requirements, in some cases for the remediation

of contaminated soil and groundwater at our production facilities, contiguous and adjacent

properties and other properties owned and/or operated by third parties;

specifications for the specialty alcohols and essential ingredients we produce, market and

In addition, some governmental regulations are

helpful to our production and marketing business.

impact, or may impact, nearly every aspect of our operations, including our alcohol production (including distillation), our essential

ingredient production, including CO 2 , our storage facilities, and our water usage, wastewater discharge, disposal of hazardous

wastes and emissions, and other matters pertaining to our existing and proposed business by imposing:

● restrictions on our

existing and proposed operations and/or the need to install enhanced or additional controls;

● special requirements

applicable to food and drug additives;

● the need to obtain

and comply with permits and authorizations;

● liability for exceeding

applicable permit limits or legal requirements, in some cases for the remediation of contaminated

soil and groundwater at our production facilities, contiguous and adjacent properties and

other properties owned and/or operated by third parties;

● other specifications

for the specialty alcohols and essential ingredients we produce, market and sell.

addition, some governmental regulations are helpful to our production and marketing business.

The fuel-grade ethanol industry in particular is supported by federal and state mandates

and environmental regulations that favor the use of fuel-grade ethanol in motor fuel blends in North America.

Some of the governmental

regulations applicable to our production and marketing business are briefly described below.

and environmental regulations that favor the use of fuel-grade ethanol in motor fuel blends.

Some of the governmental regulations applicable to our production and marketing business

are briefly described below.

Food and Drug Regulation

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labeling and distribution of food ingredients, vitamins, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for active and inactive ingredients.

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) was added to the FDCA.

This was a significant expansion to the FDCA, and established

requirements for cosmetic product facility registration and product listing, widening regulatory oversight of many more of our customers’

Many of the FDA’s and FDCA’s rules and regulations apply directly to us as well as indirectly through their application

in our customers’ products.

For proper marketing and sale in the United States, an applicable product must be generally recognized

as safe, approved and not adulterated or misbranded under the FDCA and relevant regulations issued under the FDCA.

The FDA has broad

authority to enforce the provisions of the FDCA.

Failure to comply with the laws and regulations of the FDA or similar state agencies

could prevent us from selling certain of our products or subject us to liability.

The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) was enacted as part of the FDCA.

This was a significant expansion to the FDCA,

and established requirements for cosmetic product facility registration and product listing, widening regulatory oversight of many more

of our customers’ products.

Many of the FDA’s and FDCA’s rules and regulations apply directly to us as well as indirectly

through their application in our customers’ products.

For proper marketing and sale in the United States, an applicable product

must be generally recognized as safe, approved and not adulterated or misbranded under the FDCA and relevant regulations issued under

The FDA has broad authority to enforce the provisions of the FDCA.

Failure to comply with the laws and regulations of the FDA

or similar state agencies could prevent us from selling certain of our products or subject us to liability.

Renewable Fuels Energy Legislation

Under the RFS, the mandated use of all renewable

fuels, including fuel-grade ethanol, rose incrementally and peaked at 36.0 billion gallons in 2022, of which 15.0 billion gallons are

required from conventional, or corn-based, ethanol for 2025.

Under the provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,

the EPA has the authority to waive the mandated RFS requirements in whole or in part.

To grant a waiver, the EPA administrator must determine,

in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy, that there is inadequate domestic renewable fuel supply or implementation

of the requirement would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, region or the United States as a whole.

fuels, including fuel-grade ethanol, rose incrementally and peaked at 36 billion gallons in 2022, including an implied 15 billion

gallons of conventional, or corn-based, ethanol.

The EPA set the implied conventional renewable fuel volume at 15 billion gallons for

each of 2023, 2024 and 2025 and has proposed to maintain that level for 2026 and 2027.

Under the provisions of the Energy Independence

and Security Act of 2007, the EPA has the authority to waive the mandated RFS requirements in whole or in part.

To grant a waiver, the

EPA administrator must determine, in consultation with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy, that there is inadequate domestic renewable

fuel supply or implementation of the requirement would severely harm the economy or environment of a state, region or the United States

Various bills in Congress introduced from time

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that have a reformulated gasoline program.

In addition, the EPA proposed in late 2023 that E15 be permitted for sale year-round in various

Midwestern states effective in April 2024.

Office of Management and Budget approved the proposal in February 2024 but deferred

the effective date to April 2025.

In February 2024, the EPA issued a final rule approving the petitions of eight Midwestern

states—Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin—to permit the sale of E15 year-round

with an effective date in April 2025, except that the EPA has extended the effective date to April 2026 for Ohio and nine counties in

South Dakota.

Various states including California, Oregon and

Washington, and other regions such as the Canadian province of British Columbia, have implemented low carbon fuel standards focused on

reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.

Other states, including New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois,

Colorado and New Mexico, currently have proposed legislation or policies that would establish a low carbon fuel standard program.

fuel-grade ethanol into gasoline is one of the primary means of attaining these goals.

Washington, and other regions such as the Canadian province of British Columbia, have implemented low carbon or clean fuel standard programs

focused on reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels.

New Mexico has enacted a Clean Transportation Fuel Program, a state

low carbon fuel standard that is scheduled to take effect no later than July 1, 2026.

In addition, various states, including New York,

New Jersey, Minnesota, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Michigan and Illinois, currently have proposed legislation or policies

that would establish a low carbon fuel standard program.

Blending fuel-grade ethanol into gasoline is one of the primary means of attaining

Additional Environmental Regulations

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to review key policies and procedures, conduct employee engagement surveys, champion volunteering and charitable drives, develop and

implement formalized recruiting and training efforts to prioritize collecting data and improving on key metrics from industry frameworks

implement formalized recruiting and training efforts to prioritize collecting data and improve on key metrics from industry frameworks

such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards which are maintained by

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Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business