LEVERKUSEN (dpa-AFX) - Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK, BAYZF.PK) reported Wednesday a hefty loss in its fourth quarter, wider than last year, amid high special charges for litigations and weak sales. The German pharmaceutical and life sciences major also issued fiscal 2026 outlook, expecting weak results.
The company noted that its earnings and outlook reflect class settlement agreement to resolve current and future Roundup (glyphosate) claims.
In mid-February, the company's subsidiary Monsanto announced a proposed nationwide class settlement to address claims alleging non Hodgkin lymphoma injuries through a long term compensation program, with Monsanto committing to capped annual payments totaling up to $7.25 billion over 21 years, subject to court approval.
The settlement is part of a broader strategy to contain ongoing litigation alongside a pending U.S. Supreme Court review. The total litigation related payouts is expected to reach approximately 5 billion euros in 2026.
In the fourth quarter, Bayer recorded net loss of 3.76 billion euros, compared to loss of 335 million euros a year ago. Loss per share was 3.82 euros, compared to loss of 0.34 euro last year.
Core earnings per share were 0.62 euro, compared to 1.05 euros last year.
Adjusted EBIT was 682 million euros, down 20.2 percent from 855 million euros last year.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 16.2 percent to 1.97 billion euros from 2.35 billion euros a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 17.2 percent from last year's 20 percent.
In the quarter, sales fell 2.5 percent to 11.44 billion euros from 11.73 billion euros a year ago, mainly due to weak pharmaceuticals and consumer health sales, despite slight growth in crop science. However, sales on a currency adjusted basis, grew 2.9 percent.
Further, the company said it will propose a dividend of 0.11 euros per share for 2025, in line with last year, at the upcoming Annual Stockholders' Meeting on April 24.
Looking ahead, based on the new methodology to calculate core earnings per share, the company expects core earnings per share of 4.00 to 4.50 euros, EBITDA before special items of 9.1 billion to 9.6 billion and sales of 44 billion to 46 billion euros.
Bayer expects 2026 to be a year of solid sales and stable earnings on a currency-adjusted basis.
The company expects currency-adjusted core earnings per share for fiscal 2026 of 4.30 to 4.80 euros, adjusted EBITDA of 9.6 billion to 10.1 billion euros, and sales of 45 billion to 47 billion euros. This corresponds to a year-on-year change of 0 to plus 3 percent on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis.
In 2025, core earnings per share were 4.91 euros based on the existing approach, and 4.57 euros based on the new methodology, adjusted EBITDA were 9.67 billion euros and sales were 45.58 billion euros.
At the upcoming Annual Stockholders' Meeting on April 24, 2026, two stockholder representatives will be put forward for election to the Supervisory Board, including Marcel Smits and Alfred Stern.
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