The business environment in 2025 was characterized by numerous changes that needed to be addressed at short-notice, particularly in relation to the customs regulations of various countries. Together with the ongoing geopolitical tensions, these slowed down general economic activity, increasingly shifted trade flows and weighed on consumer sentiment particularly in Europe. In this environment, our highly flexible capacity management and strong focus on the structural cost program “Fit for Growth” had a positive impact. We have met both the earnings forecast we issued at the beginning of 2025 and the current market expectations.
At €6.1 billion in the 2025 fiscal year, Group EBIT exceeded the prior-year figure as expected. Free cash flow excluding acquisitions and divestitures increased to €3.2 billion, even with a continuing high volume of capital expenditure (excluding leases) at €3.0 billion.
In 2025, we vigorously pursued the initiatives to develop new growth areas that we presented in 2024 as part of Strategy 2030. These also included inorganic growth steps particularly in Life Sciences & Healthcare, which is a promising area for the future.
FORECAST/ACTUAL COMPARISON
Targets for 20251
Results for 2025
Targets for 2026
EBIT
Group:
≥ €6.0 billion DHL divisions:
≥ €5.5 billion Post & Parcel Germany:
Around €1.0 billion Group Functions:
Around €-0.4 billion
Group:
€6.1 billion DHL divisions:
€5.5 billion
Post & Parcel Germany:
€1.0 billion Group Functions:
€-0.4 billion
Group:
> €6.2 billion DHL divisions:
> €5.6 billion Post & Parcel Germany:
> €0.9 billion Group Functions:
Around €-0.4 billion
EAC
At least unchanged
€2.4 billion
(previous year: €2.2 billion)
-
ROIC
-
13.9%
At prior-year level in the short term
Free cash flow (including acquisitions and divestitures)
Around €2.75 billion
€2.3 billion
-
Free cash flow excluding acquisitions and divestures
Around €3.0 billion
€3.2 billion
Around €3.0 billion
Capital expenditure (capex)2
€3.0 billion to €3.3 billion
€3.0 billion
€3.0 billion to €3.3 billion
Distribution as dividend
40% to 60% of net profit
Proposal: 60.6% of net profit with stable dividend distribution
40% to 60% of net profit
Logistics-related GHG emissions3
34.7 million metric tons of CO2e
32.3 million metric tons of CO2e
32.1 million metric tons of CO2e
Realized Decarbonization Effects
2,000 metric kilotons of CO2e
2,083 metric kilotons of CO2e
2,500 metric kilotons of CO2e
Employee Engagement4
≥ 80%
82%
≥ 80%
Share of women in management5
≥ 30%
29.0%
≥ 30%
Accident rate (lost time injury frequency rate, LTIFR) per million hours worked6
≤ 15.5
13.3
≤ 14.5
Share of valid certificates for compliance training7
≥ 98%
99.2%
≥ 98%
Cybersecurity rating8
≥ 720 points
780 points
≥ 720 points
1 As published on March 5, 2025.2 Capital expenditure for assets acquired.3 This includes Scope 3 emissions of the GHG Protocol categories 3 “Fuel- and Energy-Related Activities”, 4 “Upstream Transportation and Distribution” and 6 “Business Travel”.4 Represents the aggregated and weighted results of five statements in the annual Group-wide survey of employees.5 Middle and upper management. Employees in the United States have not been included in the steering process or targets since 2025.6 Work-related accidents resulting in at least one working day of lost time after the day of the accident.7 Among middle and upper management.8 The rating agency adjusted the rating scale in 2025. The resulting effect amounted to 10 points; our target figure was adjusted accordingly.
