KION shares
Encouraging share price performance in the first half of 2025
Overall, the shares of KION GROUP AG fared well in the first half of 2025 but, like the stock markets as a whole, experienced significant volatility. The share price started the year at €31.86 and ended the six months to June 30, 2025 at €47.24. This equates to an increase of around 48 percent in the reporting period. KION shares therefore performed much better than the DAX and MDAX benchmark indices, which added around 20 percent and around 19 percent respectively in the same period.
The first quarter was marked by global economic and geopolitical turmoil, yet the DAX and MDAX held up well with increases of around 12 percent and around 9 percent respectively. Reflecting increased optimism that Germany’s new government would launch a wide-ranging fiscal stimulus package, KION shares proved relatively strong and rose to their high for the first quarter of €46.50 on March 19. In the days that followed up to the end of the quarter, the share price declined amid concerns about US tariff policy and closed the three-month period at €38.30.
At the beginning of the second quarter, so-called Liberation Day (when the US president announced a broad package of new tariffs) meant that the downturn in the stock markets continued. This particularly affected KION shares, which hit their low for the second quarter of €29.84 on April 9. Nevertheless, sentiment brightened considerably in the weeks that followed as it became clear that the tariffs could be reduced by means of bilateral agreements. Boosted by positive news regarding Germany’s fiscal stimulus package and analysts’ expectations that the market for warehouse automation solutions would soon start to recover, KION shares began to outperform again and reached their high for the six-month period of €47.23 at the end of the quarter on June 30.
The KION Group’s market capitalization stood at €6.2 billion as at June 30, 2025, of which €3.3 billion was attributable to shares in free float.
KION share price performance in the first half of 2025 compared with the DAX and MDAX (both indexed to KION)
Dividend set at €0.82 per share
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 Annual General Meeting approved the distribution of a dividend of €0.82 per share (dividend distributed in H1 2024: €0.70), resulting in a total distribution to shareholders of around €107.5 million and an addition of €116.0 million to retained earnings. As well as the usual agenda items, six new members were elected to the Supervisory Board.
Rating agencies update their assessments
The KION Group maintained only some of its investment-grade credit ratings in the first half of 2025. 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. However, S&P Ratings lowered its rating by one notch to BB+ with a stable outlook in June 2025.
Further details on KION shares as well as published press releases, reports, presentations, and information about annual general meetings can be found at www.kiongroup.com/ir.