Bayer raised its full year 2026 outlook after a third quarter led entirely by pharmaceuticals. Group sales rose 4.1 percent to 10.05 billion euros, group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation before special items rose 6.9 percent to 1.615 billion euros, and the company now expects full year group earnings on that basis of 9.8 billion to 10.3 billion euros at constant currencies, up from 9.6 billion to 10.1 billion euros.
Pharmaceuticals did the work. Divisional sales rose 8.0 percent reported, and 6.4 percent after currency and portfolio adjustments, to 4.68 billion euros, while divisional earnings before special items jumped 23.6 percent to 1.292 billion euros and the margin reached 27.6 percent. Bayer raised the division’s full year margin target to 25 to 27 percent, from 23 to 25 percent, and said divisional sales growth is heading to the upper end of its range.
Inside the division the handover is explicit. Nubeqa, the prostate cancer drug, grew 58.3 percent on an adjusted basis to about 998 million euros in the quarter, and Kerendia grew 64.9 percent to 374 million euros, while Xarelto fell 30.7 percent and Eylea fell 23.5 percent. Chief executive Bill Anderson described the quarter as a turning point in the pharmaceuticals growth trajectory.
Two qualifications sit alongside the raise. Free cash flow guidance improved by about 1 billion euros but stays negative, at minus 1.5 billion to minus 0.5 billion euros, with litigation the main drain, and Anderson said a proposed 7.25 billion dollar Roundup settlement remains under review by a Missouri court with approval expected before Christmas. Separately, Anderson told reporters Bayer is working on a most favoured nation pricing arrangement in the United States, without giving terms, which would place Bayer among the large companies negotiating directly on US drug prices.