Bayer is entering a defining period, with critical legal decisions and a strategic management overhaul in the United States set to chart its course for the coming years. The German life sciences group faces a convergence of events that could finally cap its massive glyphosate liability while it pushes to revitalize its pharmaceutical division.
The company’s U.S. pharmaceutical business will see new leadership starting May 1, 2026. Nelson Ambrogio, previously president of the global radiology unit, will take the helm with a mandate to accelerate growth in Bayer’s most important drug market. This move is central to the company’s strategy of navigating upcoming patent expirations for key revenue drivers, the blood thinner Xarelto and the eye medicine Eylea.
To offset those losses, Bayer is banking on its next generation of products. The heart drug Kerendia is leading the charge, showing explosive growth with a nearly 93 percent surge in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 264 million euros. Its full-year sales reached 829 million euros, with the company targeting peak annual revenues of three billion euros. The recent EU approval for a new heart failure indication provides additional momentum. Other growth pillars include Nubeqa for prostate cancer, Lynkuet for non-hormonal menopause management, and Asundexian for secondary stroke prevention.
Concurrently, the company is bracing for a series of high-stakes legal milestones. All eyes are on April 27, when oral arguments begin before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bayer aims to establish a federal preemption precedent, arguing that federal law overrides state-level cancer warning requirements for its Roundup herbicide. The company has received backing from the Trump administration, which filed a brief in its support. On a political front, a third U.S. state, Kentucky, has passed legislation shielding companies from certain glyphosate lawsuits, following similar moves by North Dakota and Georgia.
Parallel to this, a proposed $7.25 billion class action settlement, which received preliminary court approval in early March, is moving forward. Potential claimants now have time to opt in or out of the process. CEO Bill Anderson has stressed the settlement will only be maintained with overwhelming claimant participation. The deadline for objections is June 4.
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The financial weight of ongoing litigation remains immense. Provisions for current cases stand at 11.8 billion euros. For this year alone, the company anticipates legal-related cash outflows of around five billion euros, a sum that drags free cash flow deep into negative territory and helps explain why the share price struggles to hold above 40 euros.
Despite this burden, Bayer has reaffirmed its full-year EBITDA forecast of 9.6 to 10.1 billion euros for 2026. The company has also clarified that current U.S.-EU trade frameworks, which cap tariffs on European pharma products at 15 percent, are already factored into its planning.
Looking ahead, a packed schedule will keep investors focused. The virtual Annual General Meeting on April 24 will include the election of new supervisory board members. First-quarter 2026 results are due on May 12, which will mark the first time Bayer provides official commentary on the ongoing glyphosate proceedings. A final Supreme Court ruling is expected this summer.
A favorable decision from the high court, coupled with a successful class action settlement, would allow Bayer to permanently cap its largest source of legal costs. To secure its long-term pipeline, the company is also turning to technology, aiming to boost research productivity by 40 percent by 2030 through proprietary AI tools and external partnerships. The strategic goal is to return to mid-single-digit growth by 2027 and achieve an EBITDA margin of approximately 30 percent by 2030.
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