BASF Prepares for Post-Buyback Era with CoreShift Cost Cuts and Portfolio Pruning
Veröffentlicht: 03.06.2026 um 08:32 Uhr, Redaktion boerse-global.de
The countdown is on for BASF’s €1.5bn share buyback, which will reach its planned endpoint at the end of June. As the artificial demand from that programme fades, the chemicals giant is leaning more heavily into internal restructuring — including a new push to slash fixed cash costs by a fifth by 2029 — to prove it can deliver earnings growth without the tailwind of capital returns.
Since the buyback began, BASF has repurchased 27,835,549 shares, with another 950,000 bought in the last week of May alone. The programme, run through a mandated bank on Xetra and other trading platforms, is part of a broader commitment to return at least €4bn to shareholders by the end of 2028. Crucially, all bought-back shares are being cancelled, reducing the total number of shares in circulation and mechanically boosting earnings per share. But that arithmetic support will vanish within weeks, handing the baton to operational performance.
CoreShift targets the cost base
Alongside the buyback finale, management has unveiled a more aggressive phase of its transformation. Dubbed “CoreShift”, the initiative aims to cut cash-effective fixed costs in BASF’s core businesses by up to 20% by 2029. A newly established Core Transformation Office, led by Julia Raquet, will coordinate the effort across divisions, service units and the corporate centre.
CEO Markus Kamieth has described CoreShift as one of the largest optimisation programmes in the company’s history. It will inevitably mean a leaner workforce, though no specific job numbers have been released yet. Talks with employee representatives are pending.
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The restructuring urgency is most visible in Ludwigshafen, the company’s historic home base, which has posted losses for the fourth consecutive year. Since the start of 2024, around 2,800 positions have already been eliminated there, underscoring the depth of the adjustment required in German chemicals.
Industry backdrop offers little relief
The macro environment is doing BASF few favours. Germany’s chemical industry association, the VCI, has described the start of 2026 as weak for the chemical-pharmaceutical sector, citing burdensome bureaucracy, high energy costs and global disruptions. For the chemicals segment alone, the VCI expects output to shrink by 1% this year, with sales falling 3.5% on lower prices.
Additional uncertainty stems from the Middle East conflict, which continues to rattle energy and raw-material markets. The VCI has refrained from issuing a reliable full-year forecast, compounding the difficulty for BASF in steering its own guidance. Still, the company has kept its 2026 outlook intact: EBITDA before special items is forecast at €6.2bn to €7.0bn.
In the first quarter, that figure came in at €2.4bn, slightly down from €2.5bn a year earlier. Earnings per share, however, rose from €0.91 to €1.06, helped by a solid volume increase — particularly from China — despite currency headwinds and slightly lower prices. Free cash flow is expected between €1.5bn and €2.3bn, with operating cash flow of €4.9bn to €5.7bn weighed against capital expenditure of €3.4bn.
Portfolio pruning continues
In parallel, BASF is trimming its portfolio. An agreement has been signed with PQ to sell the silicates business, including assets at the DĂĽsseldorf/Holthausen site. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026; financial terms have not been disclosed. The company frames the move as part of a broader portfolio optimisation, aiming to channel capital into areas with better market prospects and higher innovation potential.
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Technical picture turns mixed
The share price has felt the loss of momentum. At the last close, BASF stock stood at €50.64, well below its 50-day moving average of €52.05. On the brighter side, it remains comfortably above the 200-day line of €46.67, keeping the medium-term recovery pattern intact. The four-year high of €54.82, set in late April, now looks distant without the buyback’s supporting hand.
Year-to-date, the stock still sports a gain of 13.19%, and over twelve months the advance reaches 20.70%. But the short-term trend has stalled, and the next catalyst will be the second-quarter report due in July. That will be the first real test of whether CoreShift’s cost discipline and organic earnings quality can compensate for the removal of buyback demand and a persistently soft chemical cycle.
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