Top 20 Global Chemical Companies by Revenue in 2025

In contrast, BASF—the industry’s long-standing leader—had a stable year. Its full-year revenue amounted to €59.657 billion (approximately $70 billion), down year-on-year; yet its net profit attributable to shareholders doubled to €1.313 billion, reflecting strong resilience in core profitability. (II) Agrochemicals and European Segment: Bright Spots Amidst a Downturn Companies in Europe and the agrochemical sector demonstrated notable resilience. Syngenta reported full-year revenue of $28.4 billion; excluding its strategically downsized, low-margin grain trading business, its underlying revenue grew 2% year-on-year—highlighting stability in core operations. DSM-Firmenich maintained revenue at approximately €9 billion, broadly flat versus last year. Amid this cyclical downturn, multiple companies opted to divest non-core assets to secure liquidity and sharpen strategic focus on high-margin businesses—a move gradually reshaping the global chemical industry’s competitive landscape. (III) Chinese Strength: Rongsheng Petrochemical Soars Against the Tide, Turning Profitable in Q3 Among the 59 companies covered, Chinese enterprises stood out notably. Rongsheng Petrochemical emerged as the undisputed “revenue champion” in this earnings roundup, posting full-year revenue of RMB 308.622 billion—ranking third among the top ten industry players, behind only China’s two national oil giants (“Sinopec” and “CNPC”). Crucially, its net profit attributable to shareholders rose 17.09% year-on-year to RMB 848 million, signaling that its strategic pivot toward new materials is beginning to bear fruit. Quarterly performance further revealed a successful return to profitability in Q3, underscoring steady recovery in the profitability of its integrated refining-and-petrochemical value chain. (IV) Risks in the Chemical Industry Against intensifying industry fragmentation, some firms face severe operational challenges. Dow posted a full-year net loss of $2.623 billion—swinging from profit to loss. INEOS widened its loss to €659 million, while Covestro recorded a net loss of €644 million. Overall, the chemical industry in 2025 is undergoing a Darwinian shakeout—“survival of the fittest.” Notably, escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, tariff policy shifts on chemical products, raw material price volatility, and global supply chain reliability remain pivotal determinants of industry success or failure in 2026. 2025 Global Chemical Companies: Top 20 by Revenue Europe BASF Group announced its 2025 results: full-year sales revenue of €59.657 billion (approx. $70 billion), down from €61.444 billion in the prior year; full-year EBIT of €1.634 billion, down from €1.81 billion; and net profit attributable to shareholders of €1.313 billion, up from €602 million. LyondellBasell announced its Q4 and full-year 2025 results. Q4 sales and other income: $7.091 billion, down from $7.808 billion in the prior-year quarter.

What pharmaceutical industry M&A deals occurred in 2024?

Novartis also executed two acquisitions in the immunology space—though both were relatively small in scale. Additionally, Novartis acquired Chinese biotech company Xiruino Pharmaceuticals to expand its footprint in kidney disease therapeutics. Merck & Co. continued strengthening its oncology portfolio while simultaneously entering the ophthalmology space. Currently, half of Merck’s revenue relies on Keytruda—the “blockbuster drug”—but this product faces a patent cliff in 2028. At the start of 2024, Merck acquired Harpoon Therapeutics, gaining access to several anti-tumor bispecific antibody pipelines, including DLL3/CD3, BCMA/CD3, and EpCAM/CD3 bispecific antibodies. In April, Merck acquired Abceutics to bolster its ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) pipeline. In May, Merck made a major $3-billion acquisition of EyeBio to enter ophthalmology. Founded in August 2021, EyeBio’s lead candidate is Restoret (EYE103)—an investigational, potential first-in-class tetravalent, trispecific antibody designed to address unmet medical needs in retinal diseases. This candidate is expected to enter pivotal Phase 2b/3 clinical trials in the second half of this year. Johnson & Johnson continued reinforcing its oncology and immunology portfolios. In January, J&J acquired Ambrx Biopharma for $2 billion. Ambrx had previously been jointly acquired by a consortium led by Fosun Pharma, Hopu Investment, China Everbright Healthcare Fund, and WuXi AppTec. Its core technology involves site-specific conjugation of non-natural amino acids for ADC development. Its pipeline includes PSMA-targeting ADC ARX517 and HER2-targeting ADC ARX788. In May, J&J completed two consecutive transactions to strengthen its bispecific antibody capabilities in autoimmune diseases. First, it acquired Proteologix for $850 million, obtaining two bispecific antibodies: PX128 (an IL-13/TSLP bispecific antibody intended for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis and asthma—Phase I clinical readiness achieved) and PX130 (an IL-13/IL-22 bispecific antibody for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis—preclinical stage). Shortly thereafter, J&J acquired Yellow Jersey Therapeutics (YJT), a subsidiary of Numab Therapeutics, for $1.25 billion, securing global rights to NM26—a first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting two validated pathways in atopic dermatitis (IL-4Rα and IL-31)—now poised to enter Phase II clinical trials. Novo Nordisk, buoyed by robust cash flow from GLP-1 obesity drugs like semaglutide, has pursued multiple strategic acquisitions in recent years to broaden its presence in chronic disease areas—including metabolism and cardiovascular health. In February, Novo Holdings—the majority shareholder of Novo Nordisk—announced an all-cash deal valued at $16.5 billion to acquire CDMO giant Catalent. As part of the transaction, Novo Nordisk will acquire three fill-finish facilities located in Italy, Belgium, and Indiana (USA) for $11 billion.

Ecovyst to Acquire INEOS Calabrian in $190 Million Deal

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Ecovyst has agreed to acquire INEOS Calabrian's U.S. and Canadian units for $190 million to strengthen its industrial chemical platform, with the transaction expected to close in Q2 2026.

TipRanks

Ecovyst to Acquire INEOS Calabrian in $190 Million Deal

The Globe and Mail

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