BASF Accelerates Buyback as Insider Purchases Underscore Confidence Amid Restructuring Push

BASF cuts jobs in Europe, invests €8.7bn in China, and accelerates share buybacks, with insider purchases signaling confidence. Q1 EBITDA slightly down; cost savings ahead of schedule.

The chemical giant is pulling multiple levers simultaneously. In Europe, it is shrinking its Ludwigshafen workforce and selling off company housing. In China, it is pouring €8.7bn into a new integrated site in Zhanjiang. And for shareholders, it is accelerating share repurchases while keeping the dividend promise intact. The message from management could hardly be clearer: the pain today is meant to fund the growth of tomorrow — and those at the top are putting their own money on the line.

Between May 4 and May 8, BASF snapped up roughly 4.8 million of its own shares. That brings the total under the current buyback programme to around 24.3 million shares. The programme, capped at €1.5bn, is due to run until the end of June 2026 and forms part of a larger €4bn repurchase plan stretching to 2028. The bought-back shares are cancelled, reducing the share count and lifting earnings per share. The pace is picking up as the programme nears its scheduled conclusion.

The accelerated buyback was accompanied by a flurry of insider trades. CFO Dr. Dirk Elvermann bought shares on May 8 at €50.91 apiece, spending roughly €45,800. Directors’ dealings were also reported on May 5 from Dr. Kurt Bock, Dr. Katja Scharpwinkel and Dr. Stephan Kothrade. While insider purchases are no guarantee of future performance, they signal that senior executives see value at current levels — a vote of confidence that carries weight with the market.

Operationally, the first quarter was solid but not spectacular. Adjusted EBITDA came in at €2.4bn, slightly below the €2.5bn posted a year earlier. Revenue dipped to around €16.0bn, a decline of nearly €490 million driven primarily by adverse currency moves in the US dollar and Chinese renminbi across all segments. Volume growth remained positive, especially in China, though the Middle East conflict added uncertainty from March onward. The company has not changed its full-year guidance: adjusted EBITDA is still expected between €6.2bn and €7.0bn, with free cash flow of up to €2.3bn.

The cost-saving programme, meanwhile, is running ahead of schedule. By the end of 2025, BASF had already locked in annual savings of roughly €1.7bn — more than originally targeted. Management now expects to hit €2.3bn by the end of 2026, up from a prior estimate of €2.1bn. At the Ludwigshafen headquarters alone, some 2,500 jobs have been cut since 2022, and thousands of company-owned apartments have been sold off. An agreement guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies at the site until 2028 has helped soften the blow for remaining staff.

Investment in the future is not limited to China. Researchers recently achieved a milestone in materials science using Nvidia’s “Eos H100” supercomputer to run a complex molecular simulation involving 60 qubits. Such quantum algorithms are expected to shorten development times and make chemical processes more efficient, allowing the group to deploy resources more precisely. That technological push, combined with a payout plan promising at least €2.25 per share annually in dividends through 2028 and total shareholder returns of €12bn over the period, has kept the stock near its highs. At €52.63, the shares have climbed roughly 17% year to date and trade just 4% below the April peak. The relative strength index sits at 83.9, indicating an overbought condition, while the distance to the 200-day moving line is a comfortable 13%. Short-term profit-taking would not be surprising at these levels, but the longer-term narrative — cost discipline, Asian expansion, and generous capital returns — remains firmly intact.