Henkel (HNKG) Stock Falls 4% After Q4 Miss and Soft 2026 Outlook

TLDR

• Henkel reported €20.5 billion in 2025 revenue, slightly below analyst expectations of €20.6 billion
• Full-year organic sales grew 0.9% year-over-year, missing the 1.1% forecast
• Q4 organic sales rose 2.3%, falling short of the ~3% consensus estimate
• For 2026, Henkel guides for 1%–3% organic sales growth, with the midpoint below analyst forecasts of 2.1%
• CEO cited the war in the Middle East as a new source of uncertainty weighing on the outlook

Henkel reported full-year 2025 revenue of €20.5 billion, just shy of the €20.6 billion analysts had pencilled in. Organic sales growth came in at 0.9% for the year, also a touch below the 1.1% forecast.

The Q4 numbers didn’t do the stock any favors either. Organic growth of 2.3% in the final quarter fell short of the roughly 3% the market was expecting.

The weaker Q4 was largely driven by Henkel’s Adhesive Technologies division, which underperformed. The Consumer Brands unit — home to names like Persil and Schwarzkopf — did better than expected, providing some offset.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, HEN.DE

Adjusted return on sales for the full year came in at 14.8%, up from 14.3% in 2024. Adjusted earnings per preferred share rose 4.7% at constant exchange rates to €5.33.

Henkel also lifted its dividend by 1.5%, to €2.07 per preferred share.

2026 Guidance Falls Short of Expectations

For 2026, Henkel is guiding for organic sales growth of 1% to 3%. The midpoint of that range comes in just below the 2.1% analysts were expecting, according to Vara Research.

The Consumer Brands division is forecast to grow organically by 0.5% to 2.5%, versus a consensus of around 2.1%. Adhesive Technologies is guided at 1% to 3% growth, against analyst estimates of roughly 2.8%.

The adjusted operating profit margin is expected to land between 14.5% and 16.0%. Analysts had been forecasting 15.2%. Earnings per share are projected to grow in the low- to high-single-digit percentage range.

RBC Capital Markets said the guidance numbers “seem sensible,” though it flagged the soft Q4 performance as a drag.

Geopolitical Tensions Add to Uncertainty

CEO Carsten Knobel pointed to a tougher backdrop for the year ahead. He noted that conditions in 2025 were already weighed down by geopolitical pressures and weak consumer sentiment.

The company acknowledged these headwinds would carry into 2026, though it stopped short of revising its outlook.

Henkel’s stock fell 4.19% on the day of the results, with the market reacting to the combination of a Q4 miss and guidance that came in at or below what analysts had expected.

The dividend increase of 1.5% was a small bright spot, giving income-focused investors something to hold onto.

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