The Executive Board of Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft, Hamburg, today resolved to adjust its guidance for the full year 2026 against the backdrop of a continued difficult market environment and a slower than expected NIVEA recovery. At the same time, the Executive Board initiated the next phase of NIVEA’s rebalancing strategy - a turnaround plan to restore NIVEA's growth momentum for 2027 and beyond.
For 2026, Beiersdorf now expects an organic sales decline in the low-single digit percentage range in both the Consumer Business Segment and the Group (previously: flat to slightly growing organic sales); for the tesa Business Segment, the previous guidance (flat to slightly growing organic sales) is confirmed.
With regard to the EBIT margin excluding special factors, Beiersdorf now expects at least 11.0% in the Consumer Business Segment for 2026 (previously: slightly below the previous year's level; prior year Consumer: 13.6%) and slightly below previous year’s level in the tesa Business Segment (prior year tesa: 16.1%). Consequently, an EBIT margin excluding special factors of at least 11.8% is expected for the Group (previously: slightly below the previous year's level; prior year Group: 14.0%).
The global skin care market has remained challenging, with further impacts by the Middle East crisis on consumer sentiment, consumption, and costs. Building on the initial positive effects of NIVEA’s rebalancing strategy, the Executive Board has resolved to launch the next phase of the program to stimulate NIVEA’s growth momentum on a global scale. This second phase will focus on reigniting growth across all categories, drive volume and penetration through accessibility and fully leverage NIVEA’s local relevance. With these measures, Beiersdorf expects to return to growth within the next 18 months. To support the successful execution of these strategic priorities, the Executive Board decided to make additional investments in consumer-facing activities. Against the backdrop of continued COGS inflation, also impacted by the crisis in the Middle East, these investments will have a negative effect on the EBIT margin for the current financial year.
Based on the initiatives already underway, Beiersdorf expects to return to net sales growth in 2027, with a stabilization of the EBIT margin. Starting from 2028, the company expects to return to profitable growth with net sales growth above market and steady EBIT margin improvement.
Regarding the financial performance in the second quarter of 2026, Beiersdorf’s net sales declined by 3.3% organically in the Consumer Segment and by 2.3% at the Group level; the tesa Business Segment’s net sales grew by 2.5% organically. As a result, net sales in the first half of 2026 declined in the Group as a whole by 3.5% organically to EUR 4,952 million, in the Consumer Business Segment by 4.0% to EUR 4,113 million and in the tesa Business Segment by 0.9% to EUR 839 million. In the first half of 2026, the EBIT margin excluding special factors amounted to 15.4% in the Consumer Business Segment, to 16.2% in the tesa Business Segment, and to 15.5% in the Group as a whole.
The half-year report January–June 2026 will be published on 5 August 2026.