Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY)

How it makes money

Crop Science sells seeds and chemicals to farmers and distributors on a seasonal cycle tied to planting calendars, so revenue is lumpy through the year and sensitive to weather and crop prices. Pharmaceuticals earns money when hospitals, pharmacies and health insurers buy prescription drugs, with prices and volumes shaped by each country's reimbursement system rather than by open retail pricing. Consumer Health sells packaged over-the-counter products through retailers at ordinary retail margins, the most straightforward of the three revenue streams.

Revenue by segment

Patented seed traits and drugs under patent protection give temporary pricing power in Crop Science and Pharmaceuticals, but that protection expires and competitors sell generic or biosimilar equivalents once it does. Consumer Health brands carry some loyalty but compete against store brands and other established names, so none of the three divisions has a durable, wide advantage on its own.

Crop Science demand depends on farmers' planting decisions, which swing with crop prices and weather and can be genuinely cyclical in a bad year. Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health are steadier, since people keep taking prescribed medicines and buying basic health products in most economic conditions, which offsets some of the agricultural volatility at the group level.

Key risks

• Glyphosate litigation — Bayer carries billions of euros in provisions for lawsuits alleging its glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide causes cancer, and paid roughly $1.3 billion in settlements and judgments in 2025 alone; the final cost of resolving remaining and future claims is still uncertain.
• Patent expirations — Both Crop Science and Pharmaceuticals rely on patent-protected products for their best margins, and once a patent expires generic or biosimilar competitors typically erode price and volume quickly.
• Regulatory and reimbursement risk — Crop-protection products face ongoing regulatory review that can restrict or ban active ingredients in some markets, while pharmaceutical prices depend on reimbursement decisions by governments and insurers that can change with little notice.