KION shares
KION outperforms the DAX significantly
Amid the generally positive yet highly volatile stock market conditions that prevailed in 2025, KION shares put in an encouraging performance, gaining 114.2 percent and thereby far outstripping the DAX (22.3 percent) and the MDAX (18.9 percent) benchmark indices.
The capital markets were heavily influenced by geopolitical, economic, and monetary policy factors. The widespread expectation at the start of the year of a rapid upturn in the economy – partly due to the investment program that Germany adopted in June 2025 – provided a tangible boost for the DAX and for KION shares in the first quarter.
Mounting concerns about US tariff policy and a looming transatlantic trade dispute were exacerbated by import duties on steel, aluminum, and automotive products, as well as by the country-specific punitive tariffs announced at the start of April 2025. In the wake of ensuing share price corrections around the world, KION shares then also fell sharply, bottoming out at €29.84 on April 9, 2025.
Over the further course of the year, hopes that the tariff problems would be resolved through bilateral trade agreements alternated with new fears of further escalation, serving to further exacerbate the volatility of the stock markets. Due to the potential for a shortage of critical raw materials and input products, the sporadic escalation in tensions between the US and China increasingly took center stage. However, the stock markets were buoyed by persistently optimistic expectations for the US and Chinese economies as well as by a reduction in interest rates amid a waning risk of inflation.
Due to the interplay of positive and negative factors, the DAX only recovered briefly from the US tariff policy shock and started to trend sideways from the end of May 2025. Having reached their low for the year, KION shares were able to rapidly escape this stock market stagnation. They were aided by a recovery – as anticipated by market experts – in the market for warehouse automation solutions and by the KION Group’s own performance. The increase in order intake in the Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) segment, which was recorded in every quarter, played a key part in this. As a result, the share price reached its high for the year of €68.25 on December 30, 2025.
All in all, KION shares delivered a disproportionately strong performance in 2025, boosted by the market’s strengthened faith in the business model and the Group’s long-term growth prospects under its new ‘Playing to Win’ strategy.
The closing price on December 30, 2025, based on around 131.1 million outstanding shares, equates to market capitalization of €8.9 billion, of which approximately €4.8 billion was attributable to shares in free float.
Share price performance in 2025 compared with the DAX and MDAX (both indexed to KION)
Dividend proposal reflects financial performance
KION GROUP AG’s 2025 Annual General Meeting was held as an in-person event in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on May 27, 2025. Approximately 80 percent of the share capital was represented and all of the motions were approved by a majority of votes. The proposals approved by the Annual General Meeting included the distribution of a dividend of €0.82 per share, resulting in a total distribution to shareholders of around €107.5 million and an addition of €116.0 million to retained earnings.
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG will propose a dividend for 2025 of €0.62 per share to the Annual General Meeting on May 28, 2026. This corresponds to a total dividend payout of €81.3 million. The reduction in the dividend compared with the prior-year primarily reflects the lower net income. In view of the continued strong free cash flow, the payout rate was increased to 35 percent (previous year: 30 percent) based on earnings per share for 2025 of €1.75. This is once again within the target corridor of between 25 percent and 40 percent.
KION shares recommended as a buy by majority of analysts
As at December 31, 2025, 20 brokerage houses were following and regularly reporting on the KION Group (December 31, 2024: 22). Of this total, 13 analysts recommended KION shares as a buy and seven rated them as neutral. The average target price specified by the sell-side analysts was €65.30 (December 31, 2024: €46.11). The reduction in the number of analyst recommendations reflects the ongoing consolidation within sell-side research.
Current credit ratings
In May 2025, Fitch Ratings confirmed the long-term issuer default rating of BBB with a stable outlook and a short-term issuer default rating of F2. Standard & Poor’s lowered its rating by one notch to BB+ with a stable outlook in June 2025.