It's a depressing balance sheet: in 2021, in one of the best years on the stock market in recent history, the bottom line was that the share price of the pharmaceutical and agricultural group Bayer barely moved.
At the end of 2020 it was a little less than 50 euros and is there again now.
It's a shame.
Because Bayer actually has everything it takes to be successful on the stock market: a well-known brand, a tried and tested business model and, especially in Germany, many loyal private investors as shareholders.
But with the purchase of the Monsanto Group in 2016, Werner Baumann's management put all of this at risk.
The consequences can still be felt today: the legal disputes over Monsanto's weed killer glyphosate, which could cause cancer, are still ongoing.
The fact that, shortly before the statute of limitations at the end of 2021, many German investors have decided to sue the company for defective communication in connection with the Monsanto takeover is another low blow.
This shows that the Leverkusen-based group has gambled away the trust of investors in this country too.
Not sustainable
Even without the legal disputes, Bayer would have a hard time on the stock exchange.
Because the Monsanto purchase made Bayer stock impossible for all those major investors who rely on the concept of sustainability.
What is actually sustainable may be unclear in detail, as the dispute over nuclear power shows.
But most investors agree that a controversial agribusiness like Monsanto is not one of them.
Other professional investors also have a problem with Bayer: They consider the mixing of two different business areas (agriculture and pharmaceuticals) to be inefficient.
Such conglomerates are out of fashion in the financial market.
For Bayer shareholders, there is only a vague hope of an old stock market rule: If things can hardly get any worse, things can only get better.