Bayer AG BAYRY reported first-quarter 2025 core earnings of 66 cents per American Depositary Receipt (ADR), beating the Zacks Consensus Estimates of 63 cents. The company reported earnings of 77 cents per ADR in the year-ago quarter.

Core earnings of €2.49 per share deteriorated 11.7% year over year on a reported basis,mainly due to the decline in earnings in the Crop Science division.

Total sales in the reported quarter were $14.46 billion (€13.74 billion), down 0.2% on a reported basis. The reported figure marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.57 billion.

On a currency and portfolio-adjusted basis, sales decreased 0.1% year over year.

All growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis after adjusting for currency and portfolio changes. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

BAYRY’s Q1 Results in Detail

Bayer reports under three segments, namely Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health.

In the reported quarter, Crop Science sales decreased 3.3% to €7.58 billion. This business mainly suffered due to lower glyphosate-based product and insecticide sales.

Within this segment, the Herbicides business was up 0.7% as non-glyphosate-based product sales increased, primarily driven by higher volumes in all regions. However, sales of BAYRY’s glyphosate-based products dropped significantly as volumes were shifted to later quarters in Latin America and North America.

Fungicide sales were up 0.5% as volume recovery slightly outweighed a decline in prices.

Corn Seed & Traits sales decreased 1.7% as growth in the Asia/Pacific and Europe/Middle East/Africa regions only partly offset lower volumes in North America and lower prices in Latin America. The Insecticides business decreased 12.3% due to lower Movento sales in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region following the expiration of its registration in the EU. Sales at Cotton Seed were down 19.9% due to regulatory impacts in the United States. The Vegetable Seeds business was up 5.8% due to higher volumes and prices in Latin America.

Shares of Bayer have rallied 38.1% year to date against the industry’s decline of 5.9%.Zacks Investment Research

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BAYRY’s revenues in the Pharmaceuticals segment increased 4.1% to €4.55 billion. Nubeqa (for cancer) sales surged 77.5% to €515 million, recording gains in all regions and witnessing significant improvements in volumes, especially in the United States and the EU. Kerendia sales surged 86.6%, mainly due to a substantial rise in volumes in the United States and China.

Story Continues

However, sales of oral anticoagulant Xarelto, co-developed with J&J JNJ, decreased 31.2% to €633 million due to competitive pressure from generics, especially in the EU 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.

Sales of the ophthalmology drug, Eylea, increased 4.7% to €815 million, driven by higher volumes. The launch of Eylea 8 mg, offering longer treatment intervals, provided a boost to sales, especially in Japan and the EU.

Please note that Bayer’s HealthCare unit co-develops Eylea with Regeneron REGN, which records net product sales of Eylea 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.

Sales of the Mirena product family (long-term contraceptive) gained 18.4%, largely driven by growth in the United States.

Consumer Health sales gained 2.5% to €1.5 billion, largely driven by higher volumes in North America and Asia/Pacific. Nutritionals sales declined 5.2% while the Allergy & Cold business gained 2.1%. Dermatology sales (+2%) gained from continued strong demand for Bepanthen and Canesten.

Pain & Cardio (+6.5%) and Digestive Health (+12.7%) categories boosted growth for the Consumer Health business.

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft Price, Consensus and EPS SurpriseBayer Aktiengesellschaft Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Bayer Aktiengesellschaft Quote

BAYRY Updates 2025 Guidance

Bayer now expects to generate sales in the range of €44.5-€46.5 billion in 2025, down slightly from the previously guided range of€45-€47 billion.

The company has also lowered its EBITDA before special items guidance to €9.2-€9.7 per share in 2025, from the previously expected range of €9.3-€9.8.

Bayer’s Zacks Rank & Another Stock to Consider

BAYRY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Another top-ranked stock in the biotech sector is AstraZeneca AZN,also carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past 60 days, estimates for AstraZeneca’s earnings per share have increased from $4.48 to $4.50 for 2025. During the same time, earnings per share estimates for 2026 have increased from $4.95 to $4.98. Year to date, shares of AZN have gained 5.2%.

AZN’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters while missing the same on the remaining occasion, delivering an average surprise of 4.24%.

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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN):Free Stock Analysis Report

AstraZeneca PLC (AZN):Free Stock Analysis Report

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Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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