BASF strengthens market position in Q2 2026, advances restructuring and portfolio optimization

BASF increased earnings across nearly all segments in the second quarter of 2026, supported by higher prices and stronger sales volumes.

“We further strengthened BASF’s position in the market and achieved major progress with our restructuring as well as portfolio measures,” said BASF CEO Dr. Markus Kamieth when presenting the company’s half-year results, together with CFO Dr. Dirk Elvermann.

On July 15, 2026, BASF released preliminary second-quarter results after EBITDA before special items reached €2.4 billion, significantly exceeding analysts’ average expectations. Based on the strong performance, the company raised its earnings outlook for the full year 2026.

BASF Group’s business development in second quarter 2026

BASF makes significant progress in implementing its “Winning Ways” strategy

“We are making very good progress and are successfully implementing our ‘Winning Ways’ strategy,” said Kamieth. “We have reduced our costs, brought down our capital expenditures and increased capacity utilization at our plants. Our team in Zhanjiang successfully ramped up the new Verbund site. And the sale of our Coatings activities marks an important step forward in our value-enhancing portfolio measures.”

“We have once again accelerated efforts to streamline our organization and make it more efficient. In the first half of 2026, we already reduced more positions than in the prior two years combined.” From January 2024 until the end of June 2026, BASF reduced the number of employees worldwide by around 7,000. This figure excludes both the reductions resulting from divestitures and the workforce buildup associated with the Zhanjiang Verbund site. Moreover, in May 2026, the number of full-time equivalents at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen was brought below 30,000 – for the first time since 1954. “This is an important and necessary step toward restoring the site’s competitiveness,” Kamieth said.

BASF has also made significant progress in restructuring its Ludwigshafen site. Since 2024, the share of highly competitive production units at the location has increased from 78% to 88%. Plant utilization rates also improved, despite supply disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

BASF Group’s business development in the first half of 2026

BASF updates 2026 economic assumptions and raises EBITDA outlook

BASF has revised its global economic assumptions for 2026, reflecting changes in the expected market environment. The company now expects global GDP growth of 2.5%, compared with the previous estimate of 2.7%. Industrial production growth has been lowered to 2.0% from 2.3%, while chemical production growth is expected at 1.8%, down from the earlier forecast of 2.4%.

BASF has also adjusted its key market assumptions, including an average euro/dollar exchange rate of $1.17 per euro (previously $1.20) and a higher average annual Brent crude oil price assumption of $80 per barrel (previously $65 per barrel).

Following better-than-expected business performance, BASF has increased its 2026 EBITDA before special items outlook to €6.9 billion–€7.7 billion, compared with the previous forecast of €6.2 billion–€7.0 billion.

The company has maintained its expectations for free cash flow at €1.5 billion–€2.3 billion and CO₂ emissions between 17.2 million and 18.2 million metric tons for 2026.

Source: BASF