International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved solid sales and EBITDA growth in 2025, led by Taste, Scent, and Health & Biosciences segments, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

• Strengthened balance sheet with net debt to credit-adjusted EBITDA reduced to 2.6x, supporting disciplined capital allocation.

• Completed several divestitures, including Pharma Solutions, Nitrocellulose, René Laurent, Soy Crush, and launched the sale process for Food Ingredients.

• Reinvested in R&D, commercial capabilities, and manufacturing capacity to accelerate innovation and future growth.

• Reported a net loss before taxes of $412M for the year, with adjusted operating EBITDA of $2.1B and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.2%.

Financial highlights

• 2025 consolidated revenue was $10.89B, down 5% year-over-year, but currency neutral sales rose 2% on a comparable basis; Q4 revenue was $2.59B, up 1% currency neutral.

• Full-year adjusted operating EBITDA grew 7% to $2.1B, with 100 basis points of margin expansion; Q4 EBITDA up 7% to $437M.

• Taste Q4 sales up 2% to $588M, EBITDA up 17% to $94M; Health & Biosciences Q4 sales up 5% to $589M, EBITDA up 20% to $155M; Scent Q4 sales up 4% to $610M, EBITDA up 1% to $106M; Food Ingredients Q4 sales down 4% to $802M, EBITDA down 11% to $82M.

• Free cash flow for 2025 totaled $256M; cash flow from operations was $850M.

• Returned $409M to shareholders via dividends and $38M via share repurchases.

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 sales expected at $10.5–$10.8B, representing 1%–4% comparable currency-neutral growth; adjusted operating EBITDA guidance of $2.05–$2.15B, up 3%–8%.

• Growth to be volume-driven, with incremental margins on volume at 30%–35%.

• CapEx expected at ~6% of sales, focused on high-return projects; 2025 CapEx was $594M, about 5.5% of sales.

• Foreign exchange expected to have a 1% positive impact on sales; divestitures to have a 5% adverse impact on both sales and EBITDA.

• Cash flow improvement prioritized, with incentive compensation tied to operating cash flow conversion.