Amid persistent industry cyclical pressures and currency volatility, the world’s leading agrochemical companies have delivered diverging financial performances for 2025. Bayer, Corteva, BASF, and Dow have all released their annual reports, revealing distinct strategic trajectories. Bayer’s Crop Science division achieved modest sales growth while securing a landmark settlement to mitigate glyphosate litigation risks. Corteva posted a sharp improvement in net profit margins and confirmed its planned separation into two independent companies. BASF’s Agricultural Solutions unit delivered robust EBITDA growth despite overall group headwinds. Meanwhile, Dow swung to a net loss, reflecting the challenges faced by upstream chemical players in a cyclical downturn.
01 Bayer Crop Science: First Year of Five-Year Plan Delivers, Litigation Risk Eased
On March 4, Bayer released its 2025 financial results. Group sales came in at €45.575 billion, a 2.2% decline from the €46.606 billion reported for 2024. The group recorded a net loss of €3.62 billion, with core earnings per share at €4.91. The weaker performance was attributed to currency headwinds (a negative impact of approximately €1.7 billion), regulatory impacts on the Crop Science division, and natural declines in sales for pharmaceutical products such as Xarelto (rivaroxaban) following patent expirations.
The Crop Science division reported sales of €21.622 billion, representing a 1.1% year-on-year increase, while EBITDA reached €4.188 billion, demonstrating the core business’s operational resilience.
Bayer attributed the growth to strong global performance in its corn seeds and traits business, as well as incremental licensing revenue from a settlement agreement with Corteva in the fourth quarter. In the first year of its five-year framework plan, Bayer has taken steps such as streamlining its product portfolio—delisting nearly 200 crop protection products—aiming to achieve profit improvements of over €1 billion. On the innovation front, the new insecticide Plenexos™ was launched ahead of schedule. Regarding the long-standing glyphosate litigation, the company reached a key milestone by announcing a national class settlement agreement, which it said removes significant uncertainty going forward.
02 Corteva: Steady Growth, Separation Confirmed for Next Year
On February 3, Corteva released its 2025 financial results. Full-year net sales reached $17.4 billion, a 3% increase year-on-year, while operating EBITDA grew 14% to $3.85 billion, significantly outpacing revenue growth. Within the business, seed sales rose 4%, crop protection sales increased 2%, and biologicals sales surged 16%.
Alongside its solid financial performance, Corteva confirmed a major strategic move: the company will proceed with its planned separation into two independent publicly traded companies in the second half of 2026. Post-separation, “New Corteva” will focus on crop protection and biologicals, while “SpinCo” will concentrate on advanced seed genetics and gene-editing technologies.
03 BASF: Strong Cash Flow, Cost-Cutting Exceeds Targets
On February 27, BASF released its 2025 annual report. Group sales for the full year came in at €59.66 billion ($70.5 billion), down 2.9% from €61.44 billion in the previous year.
BASF noted that while sales volumes increased slightly, unfavorable currency effects (particularly the US dollar, Chinese renminbi, and Brazilian real) coupled with declining product prices weighed on sales performance. EBITDA before special items, a key profitability metric, fell 9.5% to €6.55 billion, coming in below both the company’s forecast and analyst expectations. The decline in profitability was driven largely by upstream businesses, particularly lower margins in the Chemicals segment.
Despite earnings pressure, BASF’s net income rose to €1.62 billion from €1.3 billion a year earlier, supported by net special income of approximately €1.3 billion, largely from compensation related to guarantees for assets expropriated in Russia linked to Wintershall Dea.
The company’s cost-saving program accelerated, achieving an annual cost savings run rate of approximately €1.7 billion by the end of 2025—exceeding its original target. As part of the cost reduction efforts, BASF reduced its total workforce by approximately 4,800 employees from the end of 2023 to the end of 2025, bringing the total to 108,251.
Standalone businesses, including Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions, emerged as bright spots supporting profitability. The Agricultural Solutions division delivered a solid performance, with EBITDA up 16.1% year-on-year to €1.93 billion and an EBITDA margin before special items of 22%. This was driven by improved margins and the launch of new products such as glufosinate-P-ammonium.
BASF forecasts EBITDA before special items for 2026 in the range of €6.2 billion to €7.0 billion, with free cash flow expected between €1.5 billion and €2.3 billion. The forecast came in below market expectations of €7.22 billion, reflecting management’s cautious outlook on near-term market recovery.
04 Dow: Cyclical Pressures Lead to Loss, Ag Business Not Broken Out
On January 29, Dow Inc. released its full-year 2025 financial results. The company reported net sales of $39.968 billion, a 6.97% decline from $42.964 billion in 2024. Dow swung to a net loss of $2.444 billion for the year, compared with a profit of $1.201 billion in the prior year.
The company attributed the weaker results to a cyclical downturn in the global chemical industry and subdued market demand. As Dow does not separately disclose its agricultural-related business in its annual report, no specific financial performance figures for its crop protection and seeds segments were available.
Conclusion
The 2025 earnings season reveals a clear divergence among the agrochemical majors. Bayer is focused on resolving legacy litigation while executing a multi-year turnaround plan. Corteva is preparing to unlock value through a strategic separation. BASF is managing cyclical headwinds with disciplined cost control while maintaining profitability in its agricultural business. Dow, more exposed to upstream commodity chemical cycles, faced a more challenging year. As the industry navigates ongoing market volatility and structural shifts, the distinct paths taken by these four giants offer a window into the evolving landscape of global agriculture.
