Bayer Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Crop Science Business Gains
Bayer AG BAYRY reported third-quarter 2025 core earnings of 17 cents per American Depositary Receipt (ADR), which comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents per ADR. The company reported earnings of 7 cents per ADR in the year-ago quarter.
Core earnings of 57 cents per share surged 137.5% year over year, largely driven by the increase in earnings at the Crop Science Division.
Total sales in the reported quarter were $11.289 billion (€9.7 billion), down 3.1% on a reported basis as volume growth of 5% was offset by negative pricing impact of 4.1% and a 4.5% negative impact of currency.
On a currency and portfolio-adjusted basis, sales inched up 0.9% year over year.
Year to date, shares of Bayer have surged 62.2% compared with the industry’s gain of 8.4%.
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All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis after adjusting for currency and portfolio changes.
Bayer reports under three segments, namely Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health.
Crop Science sales increased 1.3% to €3.8 billion, driven by strong gains in Corn Seed & Traits and non-glyphosate-based herbicides, which more than offset the impact of regulatory headwinds affecting Soybean Seed & Traits in the United States and Insecticides in Europe. Within this segment, Corn Seed & Traits sales surged 22.4%, driven by higher planted area in North America and a solid start to the season in Latin America. In the Herbicides business, sales were up 2.8% as sales of non-glyphosate-based products were up due to higher volumes in Europe/Middle East/Africa and North America. Meanwhile, sales of glyphosate-based products were roughly flat year over year, as higher prices in North America were mostly offset by lower volumes across all region.
Fungicide sales were down 6.3% year over year as the business was mainly affected by dry weather in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region. Soybean Seed & Traits sales decreased 9.6% due to lower planted area and regulatory impacts resulting from the dicamba label vacatur in the United States. The Insecticides business decreased 9.3%, mainly due to the expiration of the Movento registration in Europe. The Vegetable Seeds business was up 9.1%, driven by higher volumes and prices in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region.
BAYRY’s revenues in the Pharmaceuticals segment increased 0.4% to €4.33 billion. Sales of the ophthalmology drug, Eylea, decreased 11.2% to €731 million due to lower prices, especially in Japan and Canada, as well as competitive pressure from generics. Sales were also negatively impacted by phasing into the fourth quarter in Japan.
Nonetheless, the launch of Eylea 8 mg, which allows for extended treatment intervals, helped offset the decline and supported overall sales. Eylea 8 mg accounted for around 27% of overall Eylea sales, driven by higher volumes, particularly in France.
Please note that Bayer’s HealthCare unit co-develops Eylea with Regeneron REGN, which records net product sales of Eylea and Eylea 8 mg in the United States. BAYRY records net product sales of Eylea outside the country. REGN records its share of profits/losses in connection with the sales of Eylea outside the United States.
However, sales of oral anticoagulant Xarelto, co-developed with Johnson & Johnson JNJ, decreased 31.4% to €540 million due to competitive pressure from generics, especially in Europe and Japan.
In the U.S. market, Xarelto is marketed by J&J. Bayer earns license revenues from JNJ for Xarelto sales in the United States.
Nubeqa (for cancer) sales surged 56.2% to €622 million, recording gains in all regions and witnessing significant improvements in volumes. Kerendia sales (for the treatment of chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes and heart failure) surged 85.4%, mainly due to a substantial rise in volumes in the United States and China.
Sales of the Mirena product family (long-term contraceptive) gained 22.9%, largely driven by growth in the United States.
Consumer Health sales rose 2% to €1.4 billion, although growth was impacted by challenging conditions in key markets in North America and Asia-Pacific. Within this segment, Nutritionals sales inched up 1.1%. The Allergy & Cold business declined 7.8%. Dermatology sales (+7) gained from continued strong demand for Priorin and Bepanthen.
Both Pain & Cardio business and Digestive Health business gained 6.5%.
On a currency adjusted basis, Bayer continues to expect to generate sales in the range of €46-€48 billion in 2025.
For Consumer Health business, BAYRY expects currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales growth of -1% to +1% as the division navigates an increasingly challenging market environment. Bayer had previously projected the metric to come in at the lower end of the projected range of +2% to +5%.
Last month, Bayer obtained FDA approval of elinzanetant for the treatment of moderate to severe menopause-related vasomotor symptoms (VMS, also known as hot flashes) under the brand name Lynkuet.
The new drug application for investigational contrast agent, gadoquatrane, had been accepted for review in both the United States and China. Gadoquatrane is being developed for use in contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the central nervous system and other body regions in adults and pediatric patients, including term neonates.
Bayer beat on earnings in the third quarter, driven by gains in Crop Science business. The Pharma business also maintain momentum. Label expansion of key drugs and approval of additional drugs will further boost sales from this business and offset decline in Eylea and Xarelto sales.
Bayer Aktiengesellschaft Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The recent FDA approval of elinzanetant for the treatment of moderate to severe menopause-related vasomotor symptoms is a significant boost for the company. The drug is already approved in the United Kingdom and Canada.
The successful development of new drugs is imperative for Bayer. Increased litigation charges arising from lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer have significantly impacted the bottom line. The Consumer Business is also facing an increasingly challenging market environment.
BAYRY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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