Germany's Bayer Q1 sales rise 4.1% on Crop Science unit strength

Bayer AG

12/05/2026 06:41

Overview

Germany-based life sciences group's Q1 sales rose 4.1% yr/yr on currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis

Core EPS for Q1 rose 12.9% to 2.71 euros, driven by Crop Science earnings growth

Free cash flow was negative due to higher litigation settlement payments

Outlook

Bayer now expects 2026 sales of EUR 44.5-46.5 bln, up from prior EUR 44-46 bln forecast

Bayer sees 2026 core EPS at EUR 4.10-4.60, up from previous EUR 4.00-4.50, due to currency effects

Result Drivers

CROP SCIENCE GAINS - Strong growth in Soybean Seed & Traits, driven by a licensing agreement resolution and price recovery, and higher Corn Seed & Traits volumes boosted division earnings

NEGATIVE CURRENCY EFFECTS - Significant negative currency effects weighed on group sales and earnings across all divisions

LITIGATION PAYMENTS - Higher settlement payments related to PCB and glyphosate litigations drove negative free cash flow

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Core EPS
EUR 2.71
Q1 Net Income
EUR 2.76 bln
Q1 Adjusted EBITDA
EUR 4.45 bln
Q1 EBIT
EUR 3.53 bln
Q1 Free Cash Flow
-EUR 2.32 bln
Q1 Net Debt
EUR 32.52 bln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 15 "strong buy" or "buy", 7 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the pharmaceuticals peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Bayer AG is €50.00, about 34.8% above its May 11 closing price of €37.08

The stock recently traded at 8 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)