German stock market in 2025 – strong performance with selective recovery in small and mid caps
The German stock market proved to be remarkably robust in the 2025 year under review despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. Following a volatile start to the year and a noticeable correction in April, the DAX recovered significantly as the year progressed. This upward trend was primarily driven by an increased shift in international capital flows in favour of European equities, which gained interest due to an attractive valuation gap compared to the US market. As a result, the DAX reached a new all-time high in October and closed the year with a gain of around 23.0%. In the small and mid cap segment, by contrast, the picture was mixed. While the SDAX benefited from a selective return of risk appetite during the year and ended the year with a significant increase in value of around 25.3%, the MDAX rose by around 19.7% and thus also performed positively, but lagged behind the performance of the DAX and SDAX. The pronounced underperformance of small and mid caps in previous years was thus only partially offset. A supporting factor for small and medium-sized companies was the monetary policy easing initiated by the European Central Bank during the year. However, actual share price performance remained highly company- and industry-specific, particularly in the case of cyclical industrial and capital goods stocks.
US trade protectionism and interest rate turnaround shape a volatile market year
The 2025 trading year was also characterised by a significant escalation in transatlantic trade relations, which led to increased macroeconomic uncertainty. Discussions regarding a protectionist realignment of US trade policy and the introduction of additional import tariffs occasionally dominated market activity beyond classic monetary policy issues. For export-oriented economies such as Germany, these scenarios represent a significant structural risk. These concerns led to a noticeable restraint in industrial investment, particularly in the second and third quarters, which had a dampening effect on cyclical stocks. Although the central banks initiated a stabilisation of the capital markets with interest rate cuts, risk aversion towards companies with strong US exposure remained elevated, as the long-term consequences of the new tariff barriers for world trade were not yet fully quantifiable at the end of the year.
Following early high for the year, a challenging market environment leads to a decline in the Koenig & Bauer share price
Koenig & Bauer’s shares recorded a volatile stock market year in 2025. After a promising start to the year, the stock marked its high for the year at €17.82 in April, but came under increasing pressure as the year progressed. Weighed down by ongoing uncertainties in the industrial environment, a negative industry trend in mechanical and plant engineering and cautious investor sentiment towards cyclical individual stocks with a high export share, the share price declined, particularly in the second half of the year. In November, the share marked its low for the year at €9.34. At the end of the year, the share price stabilised at a low level and ended the stock market year on 30 December 2025 in XETRA trading with a closing price of €10.70, representing a decline of 29.4% since the beginning of the year. Performance thus lagged behind the gains of the SDAX and the DAX.
The average daily Xetra trading volume of Koenig & Bauer shares in the year under review was around 35,000 shares, slightly above the previous year’s level.
Koenig & Bauer share performance indicators
| € | 2024 | 2025 |
| Earnings per share | -4.24 | -0.81 |
| High for the year | 15.18 | 17.82 |
| Low for the year | 7.25 | 9.34 |
| Price at the beginning of the year1 | 12.10 | 15.16 |
| Price at the end of the year1 | 15.16 | 10.70 |
| Number of bearer shares outstanding | 16,524,783 | 16,524,783 |
| Market capitalisation at the end of the year (m) | 251.00 | 177.00 |
| Cash flow per share | 4.5 | 2.6 |
| Dividend | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Dividend
In view of the earnings performance in 2025 and the persistently challenging global economic environment, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board will be proposing at the annual general meeting that a dividend be omitted for the financial year as a result of the net loss reported by Koenig & Bauer AG. As Koenig & Bauer attaches great importance to ensuring the appropriate participation of its shareholders in the company’s success, the dividend policy provides for the distribution of a dividend of 15 – 35% of consolidated earnings, with a minimum dividend of €0.30 per share, subject to profitable business performance.
Koenig & Bauer with a free float of 53%
Under the Deutsche Börse definition, free float includes all shares not held by principal shareholders with a stake in the share capital of more than 5%. On the basis of the voting right notifications received, Koenig & Bauer’s free float stood at 53% of the share capital of 16,524,783 bearer shares as of 31 December 2025. The following notifications of voting rights over 3% had been received as of 31 December 2025:
Koenig & Bauer AG shareholder structure
| Number of shares | Percentage | |
| Leibinger Consulting AG, Feusisberg, Switzerland | 3,310,786 | 20.04 % |
| Koenig’sche Shareholders’ Association, Germany | 2,751,704 | 16.70 % |
| AlternInvest GmbH, Vienna, Austria | 1,683,428 | 10.20 % |
| Hauck & Aufhaeuser Fund Services S.A., Munsbach, Luxembourg* | 1,386,256 | 8.39 % |
| Total number of shares outstanding: 16,524,783 |
Dialogue with the capital market
In addition to regular financial reporting, exchanges with capital market players again took place continuously and on a large scale at various, predominantly physical events in 2025. A key event in the 2025 financial calendar, alongside the 100th ordinary annual general meeting, was the 40th anniversary of Koenig & Bauer’s listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which also included the Capital Markets Day. This event provided an excellent platform for an in-depth dialogue with investors and analysts and underlined the company’s long-standing presence and reliability on the capital market. In terms of content, insights were provided into the Group’s future strategic direction, the state of digitalisation and the “protected at print” and AURAVEO innovation initiatives, among others. Furthermore, the internal artificial intelligence programme “AI Empower” was presented.
A central focus was also placed on regular participation in capital market conferences and close cooperation with the financial institutions and brokerage houses that analyse the company. This continuous exchange is an essential part of transparent and reliable capital market communication. Through their regular studies and evaluations, analysts make an important contribution to the classification of company developments by investors. At the time the report was prepared, five analysts recommended buying Koenig & Bauer shares, while one analyst issued a sell recommendation. The average target price was €16.82, significantly above the stock market price.
100th Annual General Meeting of Koenig & Bauer AG
A historical event shaped the year under review: On 4 June 2025, the 100th ordinary annual general meeting of Koenig & Bauer AG took place as an in-person event at the Vogel Convention Center (VCC) in Würzburg. All in all, around 70% of the company’s share capital was represented. Under the motto “ChanGe and ChanCe”, the meeting was characterised by the change of generations on the Executive Board and the consistent focus on go-to-market and profitability. The shareholders approved all resolutions by a large majority, confirming the company’s chosen course. In addition to the election of Karoline Kalb to the Supervisory Board as the successor to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gisela Lanza, resolutions were passed on seven other items of the agenda. These included, among others, the approval of the remuneration report, the confirmation of the remuneration for the Supervisory Board, the amendment to the Articles of Association to authorise virtual annual general meetings, and the ratification of the activities of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. Furthermore, the annual general meeting approved the election of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the external auditor by a large majority.
A detailed overview of the individual voting results and the key statements can be found on the homepage under Investor Relations in the “Annual General Meeting” section.
The Investor Relations department is available to investors at any time by phone on +49 (0) 931 909-4085 or in writing (investors@koenig-bauer.com) to answer any questions concerning the shares and the company. Please also visit the Investor Relations website for up-to-date information (www.koenig-bauer.com/en/investor-relations/). In addition to information on the shares, you will also find financial reports, presentations and webcasts as well as current financial dates there.