BASF SE
5-year stock timeline
BASF (BAS.XETRA) — 2020–2026 Timeline
Major corporate events
In 2022, BASF approved and began executing its €10bn Zhanjiang Verbund investment in China, bringing the first facility online that year with core production milestones extending through 2025. This materially reshaped long-term capacity expectations for the group. The same year saw the company exit Russia and Belarus operations and divest non-core assets including its kaolin minerals business, signaling a deliberate portfolio tightening.
By late 2025 into 2026, BASF moved decisively on capital allocation: it agreed to sell the Coatings business (valued at approximately €7.7bn enterprise value) and initiated a hive-down of Agricultural Solutions with a partial IPO planned. The 2026 AGM confirmed active capital return through dividends and share buybacks—concrete catalysts that shifted the investment thesis materially.
How the narrative evolved
The market's lens gradually widened from viewing BASF as a cyclical commodity chemical exposure toward recognizing a deliberate pivot into specialty, higher-margin, cash-generative segments. The Zhanjiang investment provided a growth story; the divestitures and IPO planning offered a simplification narrative; buybacks added a capital-allocation dimension. Together, these moves built a 2025–2026 case for strategic re-rating that felt substantively different from prior cycles.
The interlude of 2022–23 was dominated by the energy shock—Nord Stream disruptions, spiking power costs—which compressed margins and reinforced cyclical perceptions. Sentiment remained tense until cost actions and portfolio moves began to take hold.
Technical progression
From 2020 through mid-2022, the stock cycled through pandemic recovery and commodity volatility, with the 2022 energy crisis producing a marked drawdown tied to margin compression and operational strain.
Late 2022 through 2024 saw consolidation as investors waited for execution proof and cash evidence. Large strategic announcements had been made; the market needed to see them land.
Late 2025 into 2026 marked a shift: positive directional momentum coincided with Coatings transaction closure, first meaningful volumes from Zhanjiang's core facility, and explicit buyback/dividend guidance. The technical character improved noticeably, and the stock found footing into the current level of 52.3.
Key risks and downside factors
BASF's portfolio spans chemicals, plastics, performance products, and agricultural solutions—a breadth that puts it in competition with both sprawling integrated players and focused specialists. Covestro, Evonik, and Lanxess are the most direct overlaps, particularly in plastics, specialty chemicals, and performance materials. The company faces familiar pressures: cyclical end-market swings, feedstock and energy price volatility, regulatory and sustainability demands, and margin compression from lower-cost producers and specialty competitors who've learned to do one thing well.
- Feedstock and energy price swings can materially squeeze production costs and margins.
- Automotive, construction, and industrial end-markets are cyclical, which means revenue tends to contract when the broader economy weakens.
- Tightening environmental, chemical, and pesticide regulations—along with ESG mandates—can push companies toward product reformulation, absorb compliance costs, or trigger asset constraints.
- Competition from lower-cost integrated producers and specialized players—Covestro, Evonik, Lanxess among them—poses a real risk to both volumes and pricing power.
Competitive landscape
BASF operates in a fragmented competitive landscape where it faces pressure from two distinct types of rivals. Large integrated producers like LyondellBasell, Dow, and SABIC compete primarily on scale and cost in commodity chemicals and polymers, while specialized competitors such as Evonik, Covestro, Bayer, and Corteva build moats around differentiated, higher-margin products in specialty chemicals and crop science. This segmentation means BASF can't simply win on one dimension—it needs continuous innovation to defend margins while managing the structural headwinds that come with being a broad-based player. The company's risk profile is shaped by several persistent pressures. Feedstock and energy costs move in cycles that BASF can't fully control. Regulatory and environmental liabilities are material and evolving. Low-cost integrated producers maintain relentless pricing pressure. And then there's the broader exposure to global trade flows and supply-chain fractures, which have shown themselves to be less theoretical than they once seemed.
| Company | Ticker |
|---|---|
| Evonik Industries AG | EVK.XETRA |
| LyondellBasell Industries N.V. | LYB.NYSE |
| Bayer AG | BAYN.XETRA |
Private competitors
- INEOS
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Relative Performance vs Benchmarks
| Period | BASF SE | vs DAX | vs S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M | +3.26% | +3.02% | -0.27% |
| 3M | +12.19% | +14.46% | +4.70% |
| 6M | +24.74% | +18.75% | +12.77% |
| 1Y | +25.98% | +24.15% | +0.80% |
| 3Y | +29.51% | -20.87% | -52.63% |
| 5Y | +4.88% | -53.67% | -84.45% |
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How the company’s key valuation ratios (P/E, P/S, P/B and P/CF) have evolved over time compared to today.
| Period | P/E Ratio | P/S Ratio | P/B Ratio | P/CF Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 26.4 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 7.9 |
| 1Y ago | 52.7 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 6.0 |
| 3Y ago | -150.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 6.1 |
| 5Y ago | -272.1 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 10.4 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the BASF SE stock traded?
What does BASF SE do?
What are the key metrics for BAS.XETRA?
How has BASF SE's stock price performed?
How is BAS.XETRA valued?
Does BAS.XETRA pay dividends?
What are the key risks when investing in BAS.XETRA?
- Feedstock and energy price swings can materially squeeze production costs and margins.
- Automotive, construction, and industrial end-markets are cyclical, which means revenue tends to contract when the broader economy weakens.
- Tightening environmental, chemical, and pesticide regulations—along with ESG mandates—can push companies toward product reformulation, absorb compliance costs, or trigger asset constraints.
- Competition from lower-cost integrated producers and specialized players—Covestro, Evonik, Lanxess among them—poses a real risk to both volumes and pricing power.
Who are the main competitors of BASF SE?
- Evonik Industries AG (EVK.XETRA)
- LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB.NYSE)
- Bayer AG (BAYN.XETRA)
When does BASF SE report earnings?
Key Metrics
Valuation Metrics
Profitability Metrics
Growth Metrics
Dividend history
Long-term record of paid dividends (amount per share and dividend yield at the time of payment).
| Year | Dividend | Yield at payment | Avg. yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.25 EUR | 4.11% | 4.7% |
| 2025 | 2.25 EUR | 5.07% | |
| 2024 | 3.40 EUR | 6.67% | |
| 2023 | 3.40 EUR | 7.08% | |
| 2022 | 3.40 EUR | 6.74% | |
| 2021 | 3.30 EUR | 4.68% | |
| 2020 | 3.30 EUR | 7.07% | |
| 2019 | 3.20 EUR | 4.39% | |
| 2018 | 3.10 EUR | 3.57% | |
| 2017 | 3.00 EUR | 3.35% | |
| 2016 | 2.90 EUR | 4.02% | |
| 2015 | 2.80 EUR | 3.13% | |
| 2014 | 2.70 EUR | 3.21% | |
| 2013 | 2.60 EUR | 3.58% | |
| 2012 | 2.50 EUR | 3.83% |
Earnings history & estimates
Historical earnings performance shows how consistently the company meets or exceeds analyst expectations. Forward estimates provide insight into expected profitability and growth trajectory.
Historical earnings performance
Upcoming earnings report
Analyst estimates for upcoming periods
Key financial figures
Selected income statement, balance sheet and cash flow figures. Annual and quarterly, based on reported IFRS/GAAP financials.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 59.66B | 61.44B | 68.90B | 87.33B | 78.60B |
| Operating income (EBIT) | 2.56B | 3.38B | 3.81B | 6.76B | 6.95B |
| Net income | 1.62B | 1.30B | 225.00M | -627.00M | 5.52B |
| Free cash flow | 1.34B | 748.00M | 2.72B | 3.33B | 3.71B |
| Total assets | 78.02B | 80.42B | 79.93B | 84.47B | 87.38B |
| Equity | 33.19B | 35.60B | 35.28B | 36.60B | 40.79B |
| Net debt | 21.75B | 21.08B | 18.72B | 18.43B | 16.51B |
PWP Leeway UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
