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

• Full-year 2025 consolidated/adjusted operating EBITDA grew 7% with 100 basis points of margin expansion.

• Full-year sales of $10.89B, down 5% year-over-year, but currency neutral sales rose 2% on a comparable basis.

• Fourth quarter revenue was nearly $2.6B, up 1% currency neutral year-over-year; EBITDA was $437M, up 7%.

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

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

Outlook and guidance

• 2026 sales expected at $10.5–$10.8B, representing 1%–4% comparable currency-neutral growth.

• 2026 adjusted operating EBITDA guidance is $2.05–$2.15B, or 3%–8% growth.

• Growth in 2026 expected to be volume-driven, with incremental margins on volume at 30%–35%.

• CapEx for 2026 targeted at ~6% of sales, focused on high-return projects.

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