EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:BASA Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS€0.18
Consensus EPS€0.10
Beat/MissBeat by +€0.08
One Year Ago EPS€0.14
DE:BASA Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue€16.80B
Expected Revenue€16.09B
Beat/MissBeat by +€705.09M
YoY Revenue Growth+12.41%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/28/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallWednesday, October 28, 2026
DE:BASA Upcoming Earnings
BASF SE's next earnings date is estimated for February 26, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
DE:BASA Q3 2026 Earnings Call
0:00 / 0:00
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Q3 2026
Earnings Call Date:Oct 28, 2026|
% Change Since:
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Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was predominantly positive. BASF reported strong and broad-based core-business growth, higher EBITDA, lower fixed costs, significant deleveraging, successful portfolio transactions, disciplined capital expenditure and raised 2026 EBITDA guidance. These strengths outweighed the notable challenges in Agricultural Solutions, negative free cash flow, special items, below-mid-cycle margins and ongoing geopolitical, energy and feedstock volatility.Company Guidance
Strong Third-Quarter Core-Business Performance
BASF reported another strong quarter, with EBITDA before special items rising 15% to EUR 1.6 billion. Growth was driven by strong performance across all core businesses, including higher specific margins, solid volume growth and lower cash fixed costs.
Broad-Based Core-Business Volume and Price Growth
During the first nine months of 2026, BASF delivered volume growth in all four core segments, supported by the ramp-up of the Zhanjiang Verbund site, its integrated production network and local-for-local strategy. In the third quarter, price increases were achieved in all four core segments, while currency headwinds eased and became a slight tailwind.
Regional Growth Across Key Markets
Greater China delivered considerable volume growth supported by the Zhanjiang site and higher prices. Asia Pacific excluding Greater China also achieved strong volume growth and considerable price increases. North America delivered strong price increases and solid volume growth. European sales grew considerably due to significantly higher prices, while volumes were broadly stable.
Nine-Month EBITDA and Cost Improvements
For the first nine months of 2026, EBITDA before special items increased by more than EUR 900 million to EUR 6.4 billion, with all core businesses contributing and the highest contributions coming from Materials and Industrial Solutions. BASF Group cash fixed costs declined by around 3% to EUR 11.8 billion.
Restructuring and Organizational Streamlining
BASF reduced more than twice as many positions in the first nine months of 2026 as in all of 2025. Since January 2024, the company has reduced its employee count by around 8,600, excluding workforce changes from divestitures and the buildup associated with the Zhanjiang Verbund site.
Successful Portfolio Transactions and Cash Generation
BASF generated around EUR 1.3 billion of cash inflows to date from sales of Harbour Energy shares and still holds around 16% of the outstanding shares with voting rights. The Decorative Paints divestment and Carlyle transaction generated net cash inflows of more than EUR 6 billion at a combined multiple of 13x. The Stahl Group Specialty Coatings divestment is expected to provide more than EUR 250 million of cash inflow, recognized in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Agricultural Solutions IPO Preparation on Track
Preparations for the planned Agricultural Solutions IPO are on track, with BASF expressing confidence that the business will be IPO-ready by mid-2027. The transition into separate legal entities with an industry-specific ERP system is already largely completed.
Balance-Sheet Deleveraging and Credit Strength
BASF reduced net debt by 20% compared with the end of September 2025 and expects net debt to reach around EUR 15 billion by year-end 2026. Fitch confirmed the company’s single A credit rating with a stable outlook. The equity ratio increased by almost 3 percentage points to 47.2%.
Continued Shareholder Distributions
BASF remains committed to shareholder distributions of at least EUR 12 billion between 2025 and 2028. The company paid around EUR 4 billion in total dividends for 2024 and 2025 and repurchased around EUR 1.9 billion of shares between November 2025 and October 2026 as part of an overall buyback program of at least EUR 4 billion.
Lower Capital Expenditure and Capital Discipline
Payments for property, plant and equipment and intangible assets decreased by around EUR 980 million to EUR 1.9 billion in the first nine months. Full-year 2026 capital expenditure is expected to be between EUR 2.8 billion and EUR 2.9 billion, clearly below EUR 3 billion and below the previous forecast of EUR 3.4 billion. BASF maintained its EUR 13 billion capital expenditure plan for the four-year period, which is 20% below the prior four-year period.
Raised 2026 EBITDA Guidance
BASF narrowed and raised its 2026 forecast range for EBITDA before special items to between EUR 7.4 billion and EUR 7.8 billion, increasing both the lower end and slightly the upper end compared with the previous forecast.
Positive Core-Segment Outlook for the Fourth Quarter
For the fourth quarter, BASF expects Chemicals, Industrial Solutions and Nutrition & Care to be above the prior-year quarter. Materials is expected to be around the prior-year level, while Agricultural Solutions is expected to show seasonal strengthening compared with the third quarter.
Zhanjiang Site Operational Progress
Although Zhanjiang recorded slightly negative EBITDA in the third quarter, BASF said the site is operating at very high utilization, has considerable asset flexibility and is on track with its plans. Full-year EBITDA guidance for the site remains around minus EUR 100 million, including start-up-related costs.
Energy-Cost Management Capabilities
Energy costs account for roughly 5% of BASF’s total costs. Management said its LNG contracts, natural-gas sourcing, hedging strategy and energy-trading capabilities helped it manage an extremely difficult natural-gas market and optimize overall energy costs.
Potential Value-Accretive Strategic M&A
BASF described a potential combination with Evonik as strategically and financially compelling, citing complementary portfolios and the possibility of creating a more competitive and resilient global player. Management emphasized that acquisitions are an option rather than a requirement and would only be pursued if value accretive to shareholders.
Expected Improvement in China Chemical Market Conditions
Management expects China’s chemical market to grow roughly in line with GDP, at approximately 4% to 5%, although below the 7% to 8% growth seen in prior years. BASF expects continued progress toward normalized supply-demand conditions and further profitability improvement at Zhanjiang if the market becomes more balanced.
DE:BASA Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed