Bayer AG

What does Bayer own?
Bayer owns and operates pharmaceutical products under the Bayer brand, consumer health products including Aspirin, Aleve, Claritin, and Coppertone, and agricultural products including Roundup, DeKalb seeds, and Climate FieldView digital farming solutions. The company also owns Bayer 04 Leverkusen football club and operates extensive research, manufacturing, and distribution facilities across more than 80 countries worldwide.

Is Bayer publicly traded?
Yes, Bayer is publicly traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BAYN. The company has been publicly traded since its re-establishment in 1951 and is a component of the DAX 40 index, Germany's premier stock market index.

Who founded Bayer?
Bayer was founded on August 1, 1863, by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott in Barmen (now Wuppertal), Germany. The company originally manufactured dyestuffs before developing aspirin in 1897, which became one of the world's most widely used pharmaceutical products.

Where is Bayer headquartered?
Bayer AG is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The company has maintained its headquarters in Leverkusen since its re-establishment in 1951 and operates major corporate offices, research facilities, and manufacturing operations from this location while serving customers globally.

How many people work at Bayer?
Bayer employs approximately 96,000 people worldwide across its three divisions in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, and crop science. The company's workforce includes research scientists, manufacturing employees, commercial teams, and corporate functions supporting operations across more than 80 countries.

Who owns Bayer?
Bayer is publicly owned with no controlling shareholder. Institutional investors collectively hold the majority of outstanding shares, with major holders including BlackRock, Vanguard Group, and other large investment management firms. No individual, family, or private equity firm holds a controlling interest.

What is Bayer's revenue?
Bayer reported annual revenue of approximately €46.7 billion for fiscal year 2024. The company generates revenue from pharmaceuticals (largest portion), consumer health products, and agricultural science, with global operations across more than 80 countries.

What is the Roundup litigation at Bayer?
The Roundup litigation involves approximately 181,000 claims alleging that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide causes cancer due to glyphosate exposure. Bayer inherited these claims through its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto. As of January 2025, approximately 114,000 claims have been settled or are close to settlement, with the litigation having cost Bayer billions of dollars.

Bayer was founded on August 1, 1863, by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott in Barmen (now part of Wuppertal), Germany, as a dyestuffs manufacturer. The company's most significant early innovation came in 1897 when Bayer developed acetylsalicylic acid, which became known as aspirin and established Bayer as a pharmaceutical innovator. Aspirin remains one of the world's most widely used pharmaceutical products.

In the early 20th century, Bayer became part of IG Farben, a massive German chemical conglomerate that dominated the German chemical industry during the 1920s and 1930s. IG Farben was dissolved after World War II due to its involvement with the Nazi regime, and Bayer was re-established as an independent company in 1951.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Bayer expanded rapidly into pharmaceuticals, crop science, and materials science. The company developed and launched numerous innovative products including antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs, and agricultural chemicals. Bayer became a global pharmaceutical leader through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

Key milestones in Bayer's modern history include the development and launch of Xarelto (rivaroxaban) in 2011, a blood thinner that became one of the company's most successful pharmaceutical products, and Eylea (aflibercept) in 2011, an eye treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration that has generated billions in annual revenue.

A transformative moment came in 2015 when Bayer spun off its materials science division as Covestro, a separate publicly traded company, allowing Bayer to focus on its core life sciences businesses. In 2018, Bayer completed its landmark acquisition of Monsanto for approximately $63 billion, making it the world's largest seed and agrochemical company and significantly expanding its agricultural science capabilities.

However, the Monsanto acquisition also brought the Roundup herbicide litigation, which has become one of the largest mass tort cases in U.S. legal history. As of January 2025, approximately 181,000 Roundup-related claims had been filed, with approximately 114,000 settled or close to settlement, costing Bayer billions of dollars in legal expenses and settlements.

In 2024, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the football club owned by Bayer AG, achieved historic success by winning its first-ever Bundesliga title under manager Xabi Alonso, completing an unbeaten league season and also winning the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in the same season, marking a significant milestone in the company's sports ownership.

Bayer has established comprehensive sustainability initiatives focused on environmental responsibility, sustainable agriculture, and ethical business practices across its global operations. The company has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and has implemented science-based targets for environmental performance across all business divisions.

The company's environmental strategy includes ambitious climate action programs, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable manufacturing practices. Bayer has committed to carbon neutrality across its operations by 2030 and has implemented comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction programs across its manufacturing facilities and research centers. The company sources renewable electricity for a significant portion of its global operations and has invested in energy efficiency programs across its production sites.

In sustainable agriculture, Bayer has developed comprehensive programs for sustainable farming practices, reduced environmental impact of agricultural products, and support for biodiversity. The company has established sustainable sourcing initiatives, digital farming solutions to optimize resource use, and programs to help farmers adopt more sustainable agricultural practices. Bayer's agricultural division faces particular scrutiny regarding glyphosate-based products and is actively researching alternative solutions.

For ethical business practices, Bayer maintains comprehensive compliance programs covering pharmaceutical regulations, clinical trial ethics, and corporate governance. The company has established responsible marketing practices, supplier codes of conduct that address environmental standards, labor practices, and business ethics throughout its global supply chain. Bayer also maintains strong clinical trial ethics programs and patient safety initiatives across its pharmaceutical operations.

Bayer has received consistent recognition for pharmaceutical innovation, sustainability leadership, and corporate responsibility in the life sciences industry.

• Fortune World's Most Admired Companies: Multiple years of recognition in the pharmaceuticals category for overall corporate reputation and leadership quality among peers and analysts.
• Science Based Targets Initiative: Recognition for setting and achieving science-based climate targets, demonstrating the company's commitment to environmental sustainability and climate action.
• Pharmaceutical Innovation Awards: Recognition for drug discovery and development breakthroughs, particularly in cardiovascular medicine, oncology, and ophthalmology from industry publications and research organizations.
• Sustainability Leadership Awards: Recognition for environmental initiatives, carbon neutrality commitments, and sustainable agriculture programs from environmental organizations and industry associations.
• Great Place to Work Certification: Recognition for workplace culture and employee satisfaction across its global operations and research facilities.
• Corporate Social Responsibility Awards: Recognition for community engagement, patient access programs, and health education initiatives supporting global health improvement efforts.

Bayer has faced significant regulatory scrutiny and public controversy related to the Roundup herbicide litigation, which represents one of the largest mass tort cases in U.S. legal history. The company inherited approximately 181,000 claims related to Roundup through its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto, with plaintiffs alleging that the herbicide's active ingredient, glyphosate, causes cancer.

As of January 2025, approximately 114,000 Roundup-related claims had been settled or were close to settlement, with the litigation costing Bayer billions of dollars in legal expenses and settlement payments. The ongoing litigation has significantly impacted the company's financial performance and market valuation, becoming a major factor in investor sentiment and share price performance.

Bayer has also faced regulatory challenges related to pharmaceutical product approvals, patent disputes, and competition law matters in various jurisdictions. The company operates in a highly regulated pharmaceutical environment and must maintain compliance with extensive regulatory requirements across all markets where it operates.

The company has faced scrutiny related to agricultural chemical safety and environmental impact, particularly regarding glyphosate-based products and agricultural practices. Bayer has worked to address these concerns through research, product reformulation, and communication initiatives while maintaining its agricultural product portfolio.