Bayer
Medicines and seeds from Leverkusen, for over 160 years.
52-week range
As of 5 Oct 2026, 16:52What does Bayer do?
Bayer stands on three legs: seeds and crop protection for farmers, prescription medicines, and over-the-counter products for your medicine cabinet. It greatly expanded its farming business by buying US company Monsanto in 2018. That deal also brought thousands of lawsuits over the weedkiller glyphosate.
From the medicine cabinet: Aspirin, Bepanthen and Rennie are Bayer brands. Bayer 04 Leverkusen also carries its name.
How Bayer makes money
- Seeds & crop protection47 %
- Prescription medicines39 %
- Over-the-counter health products13 %
- Other1 %
Strengths
- Very well-known brands such as Aspirin and Bepanthen, with global distribution.
- One of the world’s largest suppliers of seeds and crop protection.
- Newer drugs such as Nubeqa (prostate cancer) and Kerendia (kidney disease) are growing fast.
Risks
- US lawsuits over glyphosate (Roundup) have already cost billions. A 2026 Supreme Court ruling helps Bayer, but the issue is not fully settled yet.
- Key drugs such as the blood thinner Xarelto are losing patent protection.
- High debt limits its room to move, and the dividend was cut sharply.
- Founded
- 1863
- Headquarters
- Leverkusen, Germany
- Employees
- about 88,000
What if you had invested in Bayer earlier?
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This page explains the company and is not a recommendation to buy or sell.