Bayer’s Crop Science business reported a weaker third quarter as adverse weather conditions and regulatory pressures continued to weigh on agricultural input sales, with executives highlighting Europe and Asia as the most affected regions.
Crop Science sales declined 2% during the quarter, with weakness in crop protection only partly offset by growth in seeds and traits. Bayer executives repeatedly pointed to a historic European drought, El Niño-related weather disruptions and ongoing regulatory restrictions as key factors behind the performance.
“Our Core Crop Protection business is down on the year due to expected portfolio exits, regulatory impacts and increased generic pressure,” chief executive Bill Anderson told investors.
Chief financial officer Judith Hartmann said core crop protection sales fell 6% in the quarter and on a year-to-date basis. Bayer said weather-related disruption reduced fungicide and herbicide applications, while glyphosate sales declined 5% in the quarter, mainly due to conditions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
During the analyst Q&A, Crop Science president Rodrigo Santos said unusually hot and dry conditions in Europe and Asia had a particularly noticeable impact on fungicide demand.
Latin America provides a bright spot
The strongest performance came from Latin America, which Bayer described as being off to a strong start for the season.
Seeds and traits sales increased 3% during the quarter, driven largely by soybean growth in Latin America. Soybean sales rose 5% in Q3, while year-to-date growth reached 45%, or 10% excluding licensing-related income.
Corn sales were stable during the quarter and increased 4% for the first nine months of the year.
Executives indicated that Latin America will remain central to Bayer’s agricultural growth strategy, with the company expecting continued momentum in the region through the fourth quarter.
“We have taken targeted actions to address challenging market conditions, supporting volume growth in Latin America in Q3,” Hartmann said.
Seeds outperform as generics pressure crop protection
The results highlighted an increasingly familiar divide within Bayer’s agriculture business.
While seeds and traits continued to benefit from innovation, market share gains and pricing strength, crop protection remained under pressure from generic competition, regulatory restrictions and softer farmer economics.
Santos also warned that the agricultural market remains challenging heading into 2027, citing weather uncertainty, farmer profitability concerns and ongoing generic pressure.
Turnaround plan remains on track
Despite the weak quarter, Bayer argued that its broader Crop Science turnaround remains on course.
Year-to-date Crop Science sales increased 3.6%, supported by double-digit growth in seeds and traits, while the division’s EBITDA margin reached 24.6%.
Bayer reported that EBITDA before special items for Crop Science increased 17.4% during the first nine months of 2026, supported by cost-cutting measures, portfolio optimisation and execution of its five-year restructuring plan.
The company also briefly addressed ongoing Roundup litigation, saying it remained focused on achieving “significant containment” through a proposed settlement process. But operationally, executives devoted far more attention to navigating regulatory, weather and market pressures in the global agriculture business as the 2026 season enters its final stages.
