Stocks breaking to new annual highs
S&P 500 oversold value screener
Relative strength momentum leaders
Upcoming earnings dates & reports
Filter and sort all 500 stocks
Continuous multi-factor scoring & catalyst forensics
Today's biggest gainers and losers
Nov 11 2026in 44 days
—
—
3 of last 8
Each report against the estimate that stood when it landed.
| Reported | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue est | Revenue actual | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23 2026 | ($2.05) | ($2.06) | -0.1% | $355M | $318M | -10.6% |
| May 12 2026 | $9.94 | $9.93 | -0.1% | $1.08B | $1.08B | -0.0% |
| Feb 12 2026 | ($1.91) | ($1.92) | -0.1% | $208M | $215M | +3.7% |
| Nov 12 2025 | ($0.35) | ($0.35) | +0.0% | $282M | $268M | -5.0% |
| Sep 25 2025 | $1.20 | $1.19 | -0.8% | $348M | $377M | +8.6% |
| May 13 2025 | $10.01 | $10.41 | +4.0% | $751M | $1.00B | +33.6% |
| Feb 13 2025 | ($2.31) | ($2.31) | -0.0% | $169M | $175M | +3.2% |
| Nov 12 2024 | ($1.38) | ($1.38) | +0.0% | $276M | $276M | +0.0% |
| Sep 26 2024 | — | ($2.11) | — | — | $471M | — |
| May 14 2024 | — | $9.90 | — | — | $1.04B | — |
| Feb 8 2024 | — | ($1.78) | — | $387M | $205M | -47.2% |
| Nov 9 2023 | — | ($1.77) | — | $966M | $283M | -70.7% |
Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to KWS SAAT SE Publication of Full Year Results 2025-2026. The conference will be recorded. [Operator Instructions] Let me now turn the floor over to your host, Dr. Jörn Andreas.
Jorn Andreas: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our full year '25-'26 results call. Before we dive into the numbers, let me start with a brief perspective on the year. So '25-'26 was certainly a challenging year for the agricultural sector. We've seen lower acreage in several crops, cautious farmer sentiment and also adverse currency developments that created quite some headwinds across many of our markets. Against this backdrop, we delivered actually a very resilient performance. While sales were affected by market conditions, we maintained a strong profitability. We generated excellent cash flow and further strengthened our balance sheet. And at the same time, we continued investing in innovation and in executing our strategic priorities, and we are happy -- very happy about that. So in short, the year once again demonstrated the resilience of the KWS business model and the strength of our diversified portfolio. Before we dive into more detail, as always, please note that some statements made today are forward-looking and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the disclaimer on Slide 2. Let's start with the group highlights. Sales reached EUR 1.63 billion. Organic sales declined by only 1% despite significant acreage reductions in sugarbeet and corn. In addition, currencies and portfolio effects each reduced reported sales by roughly 1 percentage point. EBITDA came in at EUR 343 million and remained at a strong level despite a softer market environment. Net income increased by more than 13% to EUR 158 million, supported by a significantly improved financial result. And free cash flow remained strong at approximately EUR 123 million and was virtually unchanged from last year. As a consequence, net debt dropped -- declined further to less than EUR 9 million, leaving us with an exceptionally strong balance sheet. So while market conditions affected growth, profitability, cash generation, and financial strength remained very solid for us. Let me now put this result into the perspective against the targets that we set at the beginning of the year. So looking at our guidance, sales development was clearly more challenging than anticipated at the beginning of the year. We initially expected around 3% organic growth and later adjusted our outlook to roughly flat development. The result of -1% reflects weaker-than-expected acreage development throughout the year that we, to a large extent, mitigated by our portfolio strength. At the same time, we continue to focus on what is in our control. So we implemented efficiency measures that contributed roughly EUR 25 million in savings in fiscal year '25-'26. And in addition, we also actively managed headcount development, generating efficiency gains that will also continue to support profitability going forward. As a result, despite weaker-than-expected acreage development and also adverse currency effects, but also significantly impacting our EBITDA, we successfully delivered an adjusted EBITDA margin within our guided range of 19% to 21%. In addition, the disposal of our North American corn license rights that we've completely -- successfully completed the strategic alignment of our corn segment, that contributed another EUR 29 million to our EBITDA, also in line with our expectation. And finally, we intend to increase the dividend to EUR 1.30 per share, reflecting our ambition to deliver stable or rising dividends every year. So taken together, we delivered 3 out of 4 targets in a challenging environment. Turning to sales. Looking at the bridge, 3 factors explain the reported sales decline. First, lower acreage reduced organic sales by 1%. Second, currencies, they created another percentage point of headwind, mainly the U.S. dollar, the Turkish lira, and the Ukrainian hryvnia. And third, portfolio effects accounted for the remaining and were largely related to the absence of R&D service revenues from our former AgReliant joint venture. So the key message is here that the decline in reported sales was not driven by our portfolio. Rather, it reflects a combination of acreage reductions, currency effects and portfolio-related changes. Turning to profitability. So as in the last years, we recorded a few onetime items as shown on the slide. Current year benefited from a EUR 29 million gain related to the disposal of our North American corn license rights, while the prior year included the reversal of a VAT provision. The largest year-on-year improvement came from the financial results, mainly supported by positive effects from the sale of our participation in AgReliant against the corresponding negative effect in the previous year. Including those effects, net income and earnings per share, as previously mentioned, increased by 13%. Let's now dive into the segments, and let's start with Sugarbeet, our largest product segment. '25-'26 was another year in which our innovation-driven strategy clearly paid off. Global sugarbeet acreage declined by roughly 10% as high sugar inventories prompted producers to contract lower beet volumes, especially in Europe. And this reduction was higher than we anticipated at the beginning of the season last year and reduced our ability to achieve growth in the last financial year. Nevertheless, against this backdrop and against this market contraction, the organic sales decline of just 0.6% for the Sugarbeet segment provides a compelling evidence of the resilience of our world-leading Sugarbeet business. And here, innovation remains the key driver. So CONVISO SMART and CR+ continue to gain traction and now account for 63% of segment sales. And this ongoing shift towards more differentiated, higher-value solutions remains one of the most important drivers of long-term value creation in this segment. Profitability also remained exceptional. So even after this reduction in acreage, Sugarbeet delivered an EBITDA margin of almost 42%. And looking ahead, high sugar prices and expected lower sugar yields in most of our sugarbeet regions this year should support a stable or even growing acreage in the upcoming season, which would allow us to generate top and bottom line growth in the Sugarbeet segment again, and that makes us confident for the current fiscal year. Turning to our Corn segment. The headline sales decline primarily reflects lower acreage across markets as well as portfolio effects stemming from the AgReliant transaction. However, looking beneath the surface, the development was actually encouraging. So excluding Russia, comparable sales growth reached 2%. And more importantly, we continue to gain market share, both in grain and silage across Europe, which confirms the competitiveness of our portfolio. Another highlight was clearly sunflower, where sales increased 35%. While still a relatively small business today, this development confirms our conviction that sunflower can become an increasingly important growth driver for the years ahead. And remember, our ambition is to deliver EUR 100 million revenues by the end of the decade. Profitability improved also significantly in corn. Reported EBITDA benefited from the disposal of license rights. But even if you take this out, even excluding this onetime effect, the segment delivered a meaningful improvement in operating profitability. And that is important because it demonstrates the quality of the remaining portfolio and also the decision behind the recent portfolio changes. Turning to Cereals. Sales were mainly broad -- sales remained broadly stable despite continued pressure in several crop markets. Rapeseed was once again the clear standout performer. So sales increased 24% in oilseed rape. Our market share continued to rise and further strengthened our position as one of the leading players in Europe. And I would say this coming season, we will be the leading player in Europe. By contrast, rye, wheat and barley continue to face weaker market conditions, largely the effect of lower commodity prices last year ahead of the planting. Profitability was additionally impacted by a provision that we already flagged after the 9-month results related to an antitrust investigation in France. And excluding this effect, the underlying earnings development remained broadly in line with past levels. So overall, Cereals once again demonstrated the value of its diversified crop portfolio. Lastly, Vegetables. Sales were below prior year's level, mainly reflecting developments in spinach and timing effects in certain markets. Our focus remains unchanged. It remains firmly on long-term value creation, and we continued investing heavily in building capabilities, infrastructure and new crops while further expanding our innovation pipeline. So this rationale remains fully intact, and we are all looking forward to providing more insights to you in next week's Vegetables Investor and Analyst seminar in Andijk in the Netherlands. Let me now turn to cash flow. Despite lower sales volumes in a more challenging market environment, we once again generated free cash flow of approximately EUR 123 million. The composition of the cash flow differs, however, from last year. Operating cash flow was lower, reflecting both a decline in EBITDA and higher working capital requirements. And at the same time, investing cash flow improved by the same amount, which is due to 2 reasons: first, the payment of the first tranche in the context of the AgReliant divestiture; and second, somewhat lower capital expenditures, mainly due to project phasing. So even in the year characterized by lower acreage and adverse currency developments, KWS continued to convert earnings in cash very effectively. And that has, of course, positive implications. So our balance sheet improved further during the financial year and remains one of the key strengths of KWS. Net debt declined significantly to less than EUR 9 million at year-end. And I think a few companies in our industry operate with a balance sheet as strong as ours today. And as a result, we enter the financial year with exceptional financial flexibility, and this gives us considerable scope to continue investing in R&D to support the growth of our existing businesses and pursue attractive opportunities if they create long-term value for our shareholders. So our balance sheet is stronger than ever, and it provides a very solid foundation for the growth of KWS. And we remain committed. We remain committed to predictable and sustainable dividend growth. Based on the results achieved, we propose to increase the dividend to EUR 1.30 per share, and this represents another year of dividend growth and results in a payout ratio of approximately 29%, which is fully in line with our dividend policy. So since the financial year 2019-'20, our dividend has actually increased from EUR 0.70 to the proposed EUR 1.30 per share, which represents a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 11%. And I think that's a very strong commitment to creating sustainable value for our shareholders over time, and we will continue on this path. Let me conclude with the outlook. For '26-'27, we expect organic sales growth of around 3% in the assumption of better market conditions, which is what we currently see. Commodity prices have recovered substantially over the last weeks, driven by various factors. Current levels bode well for better acreage development and improved farm profitability in the upcoming season. And in combination with our diversified portfolio and our strong market positions, we feel well prepared to return to stronger growth next year. For profitability, we expect an EBITDA margin between 19% to 20%, and this also remains fully aligned with our midterm ambition and continues to include also substantial investments in R&D. So overall, we enter the financial year with good confidence in profitable growth. So before moving to Q&A, let me briefly remind you on our Vegetables Investor and Analyst seminar in Andijk next week. We have fantastic participation, and we really look forward to discussing the development and long-term potential of this business in much greater detail, and you will see this on site, you will get to taste and feel our products, and that will be, I think, a very great event. So looking forward to it. So for now, let me close with 3 takeaways. First, we delivered a resilient profitability despite significant market headwinds. Second, we generated strong cash flow and further strengthened our already very healthy balance sheet. And third, we continue to invest. We continue to invest in innovation, in future growth while maintaining financial discipline. So taken together, I think these achievements leave us well positioned for the year ahead, and that makes us really confident. So thank you very much for your attention. And Peter and I are now happy to answer all your questions.
Operator: So the first question is from Michael Schaefer from ODDO BHF.
Michael Schaefer: The first one would be on your Sugarbeet segment outlook. Jörn, you mentioned the 10% decline in global acreage in the past season. And obviously, we have seen sugar prices that are in rather strong recovery in recent months. So I wonder what you have baked into your slight organic sales growth outlook on the top line. So shall we think about some more price pressure? Or for me, it looks like a rather conservative statement on that one. This would be my first question. The second one is on your Cereals, on rapeseed, where you said, well, that you gained market share and you may overtake the #1 position in the next season. So can you just give us a bit of color what's the delta in terms of market share to the #1 in the segment? And last not least, on Russia, obviously, there was some setbacks in corn. On a more, let's say, general or more broader terms, how should we think about your Russian business in general? Is there also a risk to the Sugarbeet segment? Or so what's your view on the region? And how it's affecting the respective segments? This would be my 3 questions for the beginning.
Jorn Andreas: So first of all, yes, Sugarbeet outlook. So that's our best estimate on the acreage reduction last year that we mentioned. And exactly because of, let's say, this, we were a little more cautious, to be honest, you might label it conservative, we say more cautious, let's say, on when we put together the outlook, let's say. Yes. So our current data that we have, I would say, is more positive. That's what you also said. That's true. So we saw a strong increase in sugar prices also -- reflecting also some El Niño effects in India and Thailand. So we have here not a great harvest, which is putting more bullish, let's say, factors, let's say, on the prices. We see also not good or not great yields in Europe. I'm talking about the heat wave in certain parts of Southern Europe or the southern part of Germany. So that leaves also clearly a mark on the supply, and so that bodes well for us. So a big driver of the acreage reduction last year was the supply and demand balance because we came from 2 years of very good harvest. So we believe that actually this year, Europe will be -- completely balance out its inventory, will also be a net importer because we not have enough own produced sugar supply. That means we have rebalanced, let's say, supply and demand situation after this season. And that provides us with a good starting point for the upcoming growing season. So we've been a bit more conservative and said, okay, in our outlook, we work with a stable acreage. That means we have not put in, I would say, very optimistic assumptions in our outlook in order to be here also more on the safe side. And if that trend here continues and if we see in October really the results of the harvest that we see already today in the trial harvest that are already, of course, happening, then I think that this gives us also some opportunities because we will also continue to further increase the penetration of CONVISO and CR+, which anyway will also then help us on the growth side. Oilseed rape, that's a fantastic situation for us. And you know that this is basically the first quarter of our fiscal year. It's the most important quarter for oilseed rape. That's where now the planting happens, let's say, for the current season. And we had a fantastic start, I have to say, to the new fiscal year, strong growth in oilseed rape. So when we say, hey, we want to become the leader, let's say, in Europe now in the upcoming growing season, I have to say, it actually happened. So we are now #1. We have gained market shares in all key markets. And that is for us really a situation where stars align because oilseed rape prices are, of course, very high, commodity prices are high. So there's naturally incentive for the farmer to move into oilseed rape if, let's say, the crop rotation allows. And that fits, let's say, a market or as a portfolio where we have the best product in the market. So that helps us really good, and we had a good start. Russia, yes, Russia is, of course, still a moving target, if you want, the dynamic situation. It is largely unchanged, I would say, compared to all the previous calls when we're discussing the situation. So it remains for us still a revenue contributor with less than 10%, let's say, to the overall KWS portfolio. So that has also not changed, let's say. For our Sugarbeet business, I told you already that for Cereals and Corn there's anyway anymore of an opportunistic business, let's say. So that's anyway very low, let's say, in terms of revenue contribution, if at all. So Sugarbeet is still remaining key business that we have. And we do not see, let's say, that any local production will be able to match the performance requirements necessary in order to supply the demand, let's say, in the domestic demand. So we don't see that. Currently, it's operating. So it's pretty stable. But of course, no one can predict the future, but so far so good.
Operator: The next question is from Christian Faitz from Kepler Cheuvreux.
Christian Faitz: A couple of questions remaining, please. I'll ask my veggie questions next week. First of all, you talked about, obviously, the oilseed rape business, which seems to be going well into the new season. Can you talk a bit about your Cereals business such as, for example, winter wheat, how that is going also given higher wheat prices into the seeding season? And second, just a minor question, but can you please elucidate a bit the antitrust investigation you seem to be facing in France?
Jorn Andreas: Yes. Very good. Looking forward to your veggie questions next week. So for Cereals in general, I would say that we have a very diversified portfolio in Cereals, and in all crops that we operate in Cereals, we are the leader in Europe. So we've now gained #1 position in hybrid rye anyway, by far #1 and same for wheat and for barley as well. So it's a really good position to be in. So for the other winter crops, last year was a bit, I would say, more challenging because of the low, let's say, commodity prices last year, farmers chose more to plant their seed. So basically our revenue was more or less stable. We were not able really to increase, let's say, revenue in the situation. So for the coming year, we are more confident because at some point in time, the farmer needs also to purchase fresh new seeds to catch up also with the yield expectation. So on that side, we are also confident. But I would say, overall, if you look at the crop rotation, the winter cereal business is, of course, a residual loser, let's say, if you look at the overall agricultural crop rotation because sugar prices are going up. And anyway, if the farmer would be, let's say, completely unconstrained, would plant as much sugarbeet as possible, obviously very good. So that will be also a very strong drive to plant more oilseed rape. Corn prices have increased. So that might also help also to move some acreage to corn. So I would say, overall, let's say, the other winter cereals are the residual loser, let's say, but within this market, which we would deem will be stable, maybe slightly increasing, we hope that we can gain more share by our business coming from this more stronger farm-saved seed situation last year, which I think how I would describe the situation. And that's also how we see at the start of the year. The rye is pretty stable after the decline last year. So it really stabilized and also even slightly growing. And that's what we see for the other as well. So overall, I think a good start. And the second question, the antitrust, so that is basically unchanged to what we also discussed after 9 months. So there is a situation that for the Cereals business in France, there's a certain mechanism that's also transparent and public, everyone can see it on the website, where prices for royalties and the basic seed are set. That is also done in conjunction also with French authorities. And there is a question whether this mechanism, let's say, is, let's say, compliant and future-oriented or not, let's say. And in order to be prudent, we took a provision of EUR 5 million, but we as well as all other market participants rejected this claim because it's in practice since 30 years. It's been looked at many times. It's public, let's say. So -- but it is what it is. It's on our balance sheet as a provision, and then, we'll see how it develops, but we defending our position, we reject this claim.
Christian Faitz: Okay. Great. If I may, one last question. You talked about Russia, but how are -- how is the business going for you in Ukraine at this point in time?
Jorn Andreas: Look, Ukraine is actually going well, I have to say. And I say this with some humility, let's say, because we are in very close contact with our people in Ukraine. So last week, a Board member basically was also in Ukraine visiting the teams and the site, which, of course, was an important one for us. And I can tell you, I mean, the pressure on the teams locally is significant. And we are, I mean, just very grateful and a lot of respect for team that's within this, let's say, conditions. We again, let's say, increased our revenue in Ukraine in a significant, I would say, single-digit amount. So businesses valid is growing. And of course, we have also a portfolio which helps us a lot also in these days in Ukraine, if you think about oilseed rape, if you think about corn, et cetera, if you think about sunflower, where also the growth is coming from that area. So it's actually going well despite, of course, very, very challenging conditions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And next question is from Leon Mühlenbrock from mwb Research.
Leon Muhlenbruch: So you already answered my question on the market environment and the drivers of your expected recovery. My follow-up on this would be, as you mentioned, the potential impact of El Niño and the potential improvements in sugar, could a strong El Niño event also negatively affect your business overall, especially the other segments? And my second question would be to the margins. So your current margin target is 19% to 20%. What could be a driver to move above the 20% in the long term?
Jorn Andreas: Very good question. Now, so El Niño, of course, we all read the news. We had a very pronounced El Niño this year that already affected some of the farm growing regions in Asia, in particular, India and Thailand. And those are also the key regions for us that influence, let's say, global sugar prices. And that is already a mark on the commodity prices because the harvest is not going as expected because you have a lot of, let's say, drought, you don't get the rainfall and that has an impact, let's say, on some of the harvest. You have then the counter effect basically Latin America, where you have the heavy rainfall part of Brazil, you have the heavy rainfall in Argentina. And for some of the areas, it could be also beneficial, let's say. So Argentina is a winner from El Niño, and Brazil, it can be both directions, but also very different growing regions in Brazil. So I would say for sugar, it's a positive, let's say, driver and that's already materializing. For the other crops, it's -- you cannot really say, it's really mixed bag, as it could be in one or the other direction because losses in one side of the, let's say, globe could be compensated theoretically on other side, which is then dependent really on conditions. You have super heavy rainfall, then you can also harvest better yield, for example. So I would say on the other part, it's really more balanced, I would say, the effect. We don't expect any big, let's say, movement. And that's also the experience that we have looking in the past because we have the El Niño effect, of course, every few years. And that's also the experience that we've made in previous situations. So on the other ones, we are more or less say, neutral, I would say. In terms of margin, yes, so we continue to invest in our business. That's why we said, okay, we want to keep the margin expectation between 19% and 20% for the time being. But of course, if we are benefiting from a better acreage, then we will -- this will have a significant operating leverage in our business. And that will help us clearly to move also margin above 20%. And our midterm target is between 19% and 21%, so means midpoint is 20%, and that's nothing that we want to achieve in the far future, but this is something that we want to achieve every year. So that's why we were very cautious more at the beginning of the year, but we feel confident that with what we have in our hands, we will be able to get there.
Operator: At the moment, there seems to be no further questions. [Operator Instructions] We have Michael Schaefer from ODDO BHF on the line.
Michael Schaefer: Well, coming back to Vegetables, and I don't want to preempt here on your next week's CMD. However, on the numbers. So looking into -- obviously, you reported minus 6.8% decline organically on the sales side. But looking into the details, I realized that you cut back significantly on the marketing spend even on a relative basis compared to, let's say, historical levels. So I wonder whether you can give a bit more color, let's say, how challenging '25-'26 was for the segment, and maybe on those kind of metrics, how we should think about going into '26-'27?
Jorn Andreas: Yes. No, absolutely. And to be fair, I mean, we had an organic decline last year, but also this is also against very high comparables. Of course, in the previous year, we've grown 16%. So over 2 years, it's still a high single-digit growth. And we were having, I would say, 2 -- or let's say, 3, let's say, headwinds. First was that we had a lower market demand in North America. Foodservice segment was a bit lower, let's say, in terms of demand. We had an order phasing, which was -- the order phasing because an order slipped from June into July. So that also made an impact because, okay, the business in terms of size was not as big as it's then not fully, let's say, I would say, unaffected by order phasing effects. And then, we also had the high comparables that I mentioned in the previous year. So I think in that context, it's an okay result, and we definitely plan to come back to growth this year also in the rest of the segment, that's very clear. On your question on selling expenses, it's a bit of an artifact, Michael, because we actually increased also the selling expenses. However, last year, we had this one-off write-off of the Pop Vriend brand. And this basically was a EUR 10 million write-off coming from the purchase price allocation, and that is a bit, say, polluting the figures here. So if you take out this EUR 10 million onetime write-off -- brand write-off last year, then it's actually a slight increase in selling expenses, which means very consistently continuing to build infrastructure both on the R&D side as well as on the go-to-market side.
Operator: Thank you very much. There seems to be no further questions. I thank everyone for your participation. And with that, I would like to hand over to your host, Mr. Andreas, for the closing remarks.
Jorn Andreas: All right. Thanks again. Yes. No, just thank you again for your interest and time, of course, joining us this morning. And as already mentioned, for several times, looking forward to seeing you next week at our Vegetables Investor Day in Andijk. We look forward to spending some time with you. And with that, thank you, and have a good day.
| Metric | FY2027E | FY2028E | FY2029E | FY2030E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Avg | $1.76B | $1.79B | $1.77B | $1.88B |
| Low | $1.74B | $1.72B | $1.72B | $1.83B |
| High | $1.78B | $1.93B | $1.85B | $1.96B |
| EBITDA Avg | $371M | $389M | $384M | $474M |
| Low | $362M | $380M | $375M | $461M |
| High | $386M | $405M | $399M | $494M |
| EBIT Avg | $262M | $278M | $270M | $356M |
| Low | $254M | $268M | $261M | $344M |
| High | $277M | $293M | $285M | $376M |
| Net Income Avg | $185M | $196M | $190M | $254M |
| Low | $178M | $189M | $184M | $245M |
| High | $195M | $207M | $201M | $269M |
| EPS Avg | $5.60 | $5.94 | $5.77 | $7.71 |
| Low | $5.40 | $5.73 | $5.57 | $7.44 |
| High | $5.92 | $6.29 | $6.10 | $8.16 |
| Analysts (Rev / EPS) | 2 / 1 | 6 / 1 | 3 / 1 | 3 / 1 |