Bayer Lifts Outlook as Pharma Carries the Quarter, but Cash Flow Stays Negative
Published on 11/06/2026 at 12:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Bayer's stock slipped 2.7% on Wednesday, placing it among the DAX's weaker performers, as a broad global selloff in AI-related equities weighed on European markets. Reuters reported the worldwide selling pressure and had anticipated a softer open for European bourses. The decline came despite the pharmaceutical and agricultural group having raised its full-year guidance just a day earlier.
Upgraded Targets Rest on Drug Franchise
The Leverkusen-based company now expects full-year EBITDA before special items of EUR 9.8 billion to EUR 10.3 billion, up from its previous range of EUR 9.6 billion to EUR 10.1 billion. Third-quarter EBITDA before special items rose 6.9% to EUR 1.615 billion, on group revenue of EUR 10.053 billion. Management pointed to Nubeqa and Kerendia as the main growth engines behind the performance.
The Pharmaceuticals division received its own upgrade: Bayer now projects an EBITDA margin of 25% to 27%, compared with the 23% to 25% it had previously guided.
Goldman Sachs responded on Wednesday by lifting its price target on the shares from EUR 63.50 to EUR 66 while reaffirming its "Buy" rating. The bank cited the pharma division and its prospects following the quarterly results.
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Cash Still Flowing Out
Not every metric moved in the right direction. Free cash flow for the third quarter came in at minus EUR 293 million, and net financial debt stood at EUR 31.083 billion as of September 30, 2026. For the full year, Bayer now anticipates free cash flow of minus EUR 1.5 billion to minus EUR 0.5 billion — an improvement on the minus EUR 2.5 billion to minus EUR 1.5 billion previously forecast, though still firmly in negative territory.
CEO Bill Anderson said on Tuesday, according to Reuters, that a breakup of the group is not on the agenda. The priority, he indicated, is innovation and debt reduction.
Pipeline and Courtroom Provide Tailwinds
On the pharmaceutical front, Bayer announced Wednesday that Sevabertinib has won approval in China as a first-line treatment for adults with advanced HER2-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.
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Legal developments also favored the company. Monsanto, Bayer's subsidiary, secured a unanimous jury verdict in a Roundup case in St. Louis, with the decision reported on October 29. The plaintiffs had argued that the herbicide caused their cancers. Bayer separately confirmed on October 30 that a Missouri court had ruled unanimously in Monsanto's favor — the first Roundup glyphosate trial since the US Supreme Court's ruling.
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