BASF (BAS) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• EBITDA before special items rose 54% to €2.4 billion in Q2 2026, exceeding expectations, driven by higher prices, volumes, and lower cash fixed costs across most segments.

• Major progress on cost reduction, capex control, restructuring, and portfolio measures, including significant headcount reduction and asset optimization at Ludwigshafen.

• Successfully ramped up the Zhanjiang Verbund site and executed value-enhancing portfolio actions.

• Completed the sale of the Coatings business to Carlyle for €7.7 billion, generating a €3.5 billion after-tax gain and €5.8 billion in cash proceeds.

• Accelerated sell-down of Harbour Energy stake, generating over €800 million in cash.

Financial highlights

• Q2 2026 sales rose 16.4% year-over-year to €17.2 billion; H1 2026 sales up 6.2% to €33.2 billion.

• Q2 2026 EBITDA before special items increased 53.6% to €2.45 billion; H1 2026 up 17.5% to €4.8 billion.

• Net income for H1 2026 surged to €5.1 billion, mainly due to a €3.5 billion disposal gain from the Coatings business.

• Free cash flow was negative at -€1.6 billion for H1 and -€189 million for Q2, impacted by higher working capital and transformation costs.

• Cash fixed costs declined by 4% to €7.9 billion in H1 2026.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year 2026 EBITDA before special items guidance raised to €6.9–7.7 billion (previously €6.2–7.0 billion).

• Free cash flow guidance maintained at €1.5–2.3 billion, with higher earnings and lower CapEx expected to offset working capital buildup.

• Annual cost savings target of €2.3 billion by year-end 2026 on track.

• Global GDP growth forecast at 2.5%, chemical production growth at 1.8%, and oil price assumption at $80/bbl.

• Outlook remains highly uncertain due to Middle East conflict and supply chain risks.