Bayer Expects Provisions to Increase to Nearly $14 Billion as It Aims to Settle All Roundup Cases

By Joshua Kirby

Bayer said it expects to pay close to $14 billion in total litigation provisions and liabilities as it seeks to settle all cases relating to its Roundup herbicide.

Monsanto--the German conglomerate's U.S. subsidiary and owner of Roundup--said Tuesday it was proposing a nationwide class-action settlement designed to resolve all claims that Roundup led to non-hodgkin's lymphoma from people exposed to Roundup. The lawsuits allege that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer.

Under the plan, Monsanto will make annual payments over 21 years totaling up to $7.25 billion. Law firms representing the class action on Tuesday filed a motion seeking preliminary approval from the circuit court of St. Louis, Missouri.

Separately, Monsanto has reached settlement agreements for other Roundup cases, Bayer said.

"The settlement agreements do not contain any admission of liability or wrongdoing," it said.

The resolutions, including litigation costs, entail an increase in provisions and liabilities for litigation from 7.8 billion euros ($9.24 billion) as of Sept. 30 last year to 11.8 billion euros, Bayer said. That will include an estimated 5 billion euros this year.

The company will likely as a result post a negative free cash flow this year, it said. The company will set out guidance for the year, and results for 2025, on March 4. This has been pushed back from a previous date of Feb. 25.

The costs of the legal resolutions are covered by a bank loan of $8 billion, Bayer said.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2026 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)