Brenntag SE
5-year stock timeline
Using EUR 56.48 as the latest price, here's a factual 2020–2026 timeline for Brenntag (BNR.XETRA).
Major events
Brenntag pursued aggressive acquisitive growth in 2020–2021, notably announcing the JM Swank food-ingredients acquisition in June 2021, which materially expanded its North American Nutrition footprint by roughly USD 500m in sales. The company converted to a Societas Europaea (SE) in 2021 while continuing targeted M&A to build out Specialties. From 2023 into 2025, Brenntag restructured its management and divisional governance—a redesign announced in August 2023 with a two-division operating model taking effect from January 2024—while facing persistent pricing pressure and lowered guidance amid challenging chemicals market conditions.
Investor narrative
Through 2020–2021, the prevailing narrative centered on Brenntag as an M&A-driven, margin-upgrading distributor focused on building a larger Specialties business. By 2023–2025, investor perception shifted toward an execution and quality story: emphasis on integration, margin resilience and cash discipline as weakening end-market prices and soft demand forced guidance adjustments and more cautious outlooks.
Chart phases
Post-pandemic recovery and deal momentum supported an uptrend into 2021, followed by consolidation and volatility through 2022–2024 as volumes and selling prices normalized. 2025 marked a notable downside phase, with shares declining roughly 14% for the financial year and trading between an annual high of EUR 68.24 and low of EUR 46.26 as the company trimmed guidance and markets digested weaker operating performance.
Year-by-year
2020–2021 saw pandemic-period resilience in distribution demand across many segments, accelerated M&A to scale Specialties (JM Swank announced June 2021) and structural moves including the SE conversion. 2022–2023 focused on integration and strategy refinement, with governance and management redesign announced in mid-2023 to support two more autonomous divisions from 2024 onward. 2024 through May 2026 brought pricing headwinds and weaker earnings in early 2024—Q1 EBITA declined materially year-on-year—prompting guidance specification to the lower end for 2024, continuing into 2025 when results and macro weakness pressured the share price while the company maintained selective M&A, issued debt and proposed dividends consistent with cautious capital allocation.
Key risks and downside factors
Brenntag holds the largest position in global chemical distribution, competing in a landscape where scale matters and margins get tested. The peer set is tight: Univar Solutions (UNVR.NYSE), IMCD (IMCD.AS), Azelis (AZE.BR), and DKSH (DKSH.SIX)—each with established regional networks. The company faces familiar pressures: commodity cycles compress margins, customer consolidation shifts power downstream, environmental and regulatory costs keep climbing, and M&A integration remains a genuine execution challenge. Supply-chain disruptions and currency swings hit working capital harder than most, which feeds through to earnings.
- Margin pressure from commodity-price volatility and customer consolidation are compressing distributor spreads.
- Rising costs tied to regulatory compliance, environmental standards, and product safety—along with potential remediation liabilities—are beginning to weigh on operations [27].
- Acquisitions carry real execution risk—integration missteps can dilute returns or disrupt operations.
- Supply-chain disruptions, raw-material shortages, and foreign-exchange volatility are all straining working capital and compressing margins [1].
Competitive landscape
Brenntag holds the global distribution lead in chemicals and ingredients, operating at multi-billion euro scale across an extensive network of sites. The competitive landscape includes specialty distributors like Azelis and IMCD, alongside regional private players and Univar Solutions—a former public peer that still presses on margins and service expectations through local advantages. The business carries real vulnerabilities: commodity cycles hit margins directly, consolidation keeps pricing under pressure, regulatory compliance carries weight, and logistics combined with working capital management can swing earnings materially.
| Company | Ticker |
|---|---|
| Azelis Group NV | AZE.BR |
| IMCD N.V. | IMCD.AS |
Private competitors
- Univar Solutions
- HELM AG
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Start Free TrialPerformance Figures of Brenntag SE
Relative Performance vs Benchmarks
| Period | Brenntag SE | vs DAX | vs S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M | -2.50% | -6.76% | -7.95% |
| 3M | +11.60% | +12.56% | +1.90% |
| 6M | +18.03% | +12.97% | +7.59% |
| 1Y | -2.66% | -6.84% | -31.81% |
| 3Y | -14.19% | -71.17% | -99.86% |
| 5Y | -13.41% | -74.77% | -104.71% |
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Start Free TrialHistorical valuation trends
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 | 35.7 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 8.6 |
| 1Y ago | 16.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| 3Y ago | 13.5 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 8.7 |
| 5Y ago | 26.4 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 10.9 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Brenntag SE stock traded?
What does Brenntag SE do?
What are the key metrics for BNR.XETRA?
How has Brenntag SE's stock price performed?
How is BNR.XETRA valued?
Does BNR.XETRA pay dividends?
What are the key risks when investing in BNR.XETRA?
- Margin pressure from commodity-price volatility and customer consolidation are compressing distributor spreads.
- Rising costs tied to regulatory compliance, environmental standards, and product safety—along with potential remediation liabilities—are beginning to weigh on operations [web:27].
- Acquisitions carry real execution risk—integration missteps can dilute returns or disrupt operations.
- Supply-chain disruptions, raw-material shortages, and foreign-exchange volatility are all straining working capital and compressing margins [web:1].
Who are the main competitors of Brenntag SE?
- Azelis Group NV (AZE.BR)
- IMCD N.V. (IMCD.AS)
When does Brenntag 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 | 1.90 EUR | 3.23% | 2.41% |
| 2025 | 2.10 EUR | 3.54% | |
| 2024 | 2.10 EUR | 3.12% | |
| 2023 | 2.00 EUR | 2.75% | |
| 2022 | 1.45 EUR | 2.05% | |
| 2021 | 1.35 EUR | 1.76% | |
| 2020 | 1.25 EUR | 2.51% | |
| 2019 | 1.20 EUR | 2.75% | |
| 2018 | 1.10 EUR | 2.21% | |
| 2017 | 1.05 EUR | 2.02% | |
| 2016 | 1.00 EUR | 2.28% | |
| 2015 | 0.90 EUR | 1.75% | |
| 2014 | 0.87 EUR | 1.90% | |
| 2013 | 0.80 EUR | 2.01% | |
| 2012 | 0.67 EUR | 2.21% |
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 | 15.17B | 16.24B | 16.82B | 19.43B | 14.38B |
| Operating income (EBIT) | 733.20M | 915.40M | 1.12B | 1.38B | 742.40M |
| Net income | 264.60M | 536.20M | 714.90M | 886.80M | 448.30M |
| Free cash flow | 673.70M | 564.40M | 1.34B | 689.50M | 189.30M |
| Total assets | 10.84B | 11.67B | 10.34B | 11.37B | 10.20B |
| Equity | 4.31B | 4.73B | 4.30B | 4.75B | 3.91B |
| Net debt | 2.46B | 2.61B | 1.82B | 1.88B | 1.96B |
PWP Leeway UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
