On March 5, Bayer released its financial report. In 2024, revenue reached €46.606 billion, down 2.2% year-over-year, while core earnings per share plummeted 21% to €5.05. Revenue in China was €3.6 billion, a 0.7% decline from 2023 (€3.624 billion). R&D investment reached €6.209 billion, marking a 15.6% increase.
Bayer Group CEO Bill Anderson stated that 2025 is a “critical turning point” for the company. He described 2024 as the second year of Bayer’s turnaround efforts and the most financially challenging year, with net sales expected to remain flat and earnings and free cash flow anticipated to decline. However, performance is projected to improve from 2026 onward.
In addition to its four existing strategic focus areas, Bayer will prioritize improving the profitability of its Crop Science division as a fifth key focus, launching a comprehensive five-year profit enhancement plan. Anderson remarked, “You will see us going full throttle, focusing on the right actions to create value for customers, strengthen the company, and deliver for shareholders.”
The plan to enhance the profitability of the Crop Science division targets key areas such as product portfolio, R&D, production, business operations, and support teams. It also includes a significant cash productivity initiative expected to contribute over €1 billion in annual earnings by 2029. Bayer aims to achieve above-market growth for its Crop Science business in the coming years, with incremental sales exceeding €3.5 billion by 2029. That same year, the division targets an adjusted EBITDA margin in the mid-20% range. Anderson emphasized, “We recognize the need for action, our team has a plan, and we have the ability to execute it.”
Bayer Group’s sales in 2024 grew by 0.7% (adjusted for currency and portfolio effects) to €46.606 billion. The negative currency impact amounted to €1.349 billion (2023: €1.964 billion). Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items fell 13.5% to €10.123 billion, with currency headwinds accounting for €573 million (2023: €375 million). EBIT stood at -€71 million (2023: €612 million), while net special charges totaled €5.507 billion (2023: €6.977 billion), mainly due to impairment losses, particularly in the Crop Science division.
Net income was -€2.552 billion (2023: -€2.941 billion), and core earnings per share fell 21.0% to €5.05. Free cash flow reached €3.107 billion, more than doubling from the previous fiscal year, slightly exceeding company expectations. As of December 31, 2024, net financial debt decreased to €32.626 billion, a 5.4% reduction from the end of 2023.
To further reduce debt and enhance flexibility, Bayer plans to pay the statutory minimum dividend for 2024 as previously announced. The company proposes maintaining a dividend of €0.11 per share for dividend-entitled shares, to be voted on at the Annual General Meeting on April 25, 2025.
Sales in the Crop Science division fell 2.0% (adjusted for currency and portfolio effects) to €22.259 billion, primarily due to price declines caused by competitive pricing pressures in the crop protection business. Reduced planting areas led to lower sales of seeds and traits, but this was offset by higher sales volumes of crop protection products.
In Latin America, declining corn acreage and lower crop protection prices resulted in a drop in sales. However, in North America, higher sales of crop protection products and increased soybean acreage led to slight growth, partially offsetting the impact of reduced corn acreage.
Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items declined by 14.2% to €4.325 billion, mainly due to the sharp price drop in the crop protection business. Additional impacts came from higher short-term incentive (STI) provisions and rising inflationary costs. However, improved efficiency reduced costs, particularly for crop protection products. Currency fluctuations also had a positive effect of €37 million (2023: €103 million). Adjusted EBITDA margin declined by 2.3% to 19.4%.
At the beginning of 2024, Bayer announced a structural overhaul, introducing a new global operating model to reduce hierarchy, increase cross-functional collaboration, and improve operational efficiency. The report stated that the company had 92,815 employees, a reduction of 6,908 from 2023.
Throughout 2024, Bayer accelerated organizational streamlining, focusing layoffs on management. In Q1, 1,500 positions were cut, two-thirds of which were management roles, alongside a restructuring of the pharmaceutical commercialization team. By early Q4, pharmaceutical commercialization layoffs were mostly complete, bringing the global workforce down to 98,189, a 3.5% year-over-year reduction. U.S. layoffs are expected to conclude by the end of 2025, while German job cuts will extend into late 2026, with a target of saving €2 billion in costs by then.
The “6,908 global layoffs” mentioned in the report equates to approximately 19 employees leaving each day. The stark contrast between U.S. and German layoff timelines reveals two harsh realities:
In 2018, Bayer acquired Monsanto for $63 billion, but the deal came with numerous legal battles, the most troublesome being lawsuits over the alleged cancer risks of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, which contains glyphosate. The lawsuits continue to escalate, with an additional €1.56 billion in settlement costs in 2024, bringing the total to over €14 billion. Thousands of cases remain unresolved.
Although net debt decreased from €34.498 billion to €32.626 billion, rating agencies have warned that a credit downgrade may be imminent if the lawsuits and financial performance do not improve.
Amidst the financial gloom, three bright spots stood out:
Notably, Bayer’s five-year strategic timeline aligns perfectly with the end of the current leadership’s tenure in 2029—whether this is strategic foresight or a ticking time bomb for successors remains to be seen.
Bayer’s 2024 financial report reveals a harsh reality: traditional pharmaceutical companies are being forced into high-stakes gambles, betting on:
The ultimate suspense? When the heart drug Beyonttra debuts in 2025, will it be a superhero that rescues Bayer’s stock or another failed lab experiment? The financial forecast—€45-47 billion in revenue for 2025, mirroring 2024—suggests a delicate balancing act on a tightrope.
