HSBC Australia Faces A$35M Penalty Over Scam Protection Failures 
US Raises Concerns Over Possible ASML EUV Machine Transfer to China 
Trump Administration Delays DeepSeek and CXMT Trade Blacklist Designations Amid U.S.-China Tensions 
SK Hynix Shares Hit Record High After Shipping Next-Generation HBM4E AI Memory Samples 
Kingboard Holdings Shares Surge After HK$11.77 Billion Block Trade to Expand PCB and AI Supply Chain Business 
SpaceX Surpasses Amazon in Market Value as Post-IPO Rally Accelerates 
Qantas Unveils Wellness-Focused Nonstop Sydney-London Flights to Reduce Jet Lag 
Obayashi to Acquire Multiplex in $526M Expansion Deal 
SoftBank Shares Drop as OpenAI Losses and Rising Costs Spark Investor Concerns 
Apple Signals Product Price Hikes Amid Rising Memory Chip Costs 
J.P. Morgan Sees Potential Vestas Guidance Upgrade Amid Strong Wind Energy Demand 
Samsung Gains Interest from BYD, Google, AMD as AI Chip Demand Strains TSMC Capacity 
Saudi Aramco Explores Sulphur Business Stake Sale to Raise Billions 
John Jumper Leaves Google DeepMind for Anthropic Amid Intensifying AI Talent Race 
Microsoft Taps AWS to Support GitHub Amid AI Coding Boom 
Carro Expands Into Australia With Acquisition of Used-Car Platform CarPlace 
Frank Stronach Found Guilty of Sexual Assault and Indecent Assault in Ontario Court 
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli delivered its strongest annual performance on record in 2025, reporting full-year sales of CHF 5.92 billion driven by a 19% price increase and double-digit organic growth, even as volumes declined 6.6%. The results underscore the Swiss luxury chocolate maker's continued pricing power in a challenging commodity environment.
Organic sales growth accelerated to 12.4% for the year ended December 31, 2025, up from 7.8% the prior year. Riding that momentum, Lindt simultaneously unveiled a new CHF 1 billion share buyback program — double the size of its previous CHF 500 million initiative — set to launch on June 1.
Profitability held firm despite soaring cocoa prices. EBIT climbed 9.8% to CHF 971 million, with the margin edging up 20 basis points to 16.4%. Net income rose 8.1% to CHF 727 million, and earnings per share reached CHF 3,164, a gain of 8.5%. However, surging raw material costs pushed expenses to 37.5% of sales from 34.8%, compressing free cash flow by 30% to CHF 446 million. Net debt widened to CHF 1.07 billion from CHF 882 million.
Geographically, Europe — representing half of group revenue — led with 15.3% organic growth to CHF 2.96 billion. North America grew 8.9% to CHF 2.18 billion, with Ghirardelli surging 16.2% while Russell Stover slipped 6.2%. Rest of World advanced 11.7% to CHF 0.78 billion. Global retail was a standout, posting 20.8% organic growth across 621 stores, after 53 new locations opened during the year.
Total shareholder returns reached CHF 678 million, including a proposed dividend of CHF 1,800 per registered share pending approval.
Looking ahead to 2026, Lindt guided for organic sales growth of 4% to 6% and a 20–40 basis point improvement in EBIT margin, with medium-to-long-term targets of 6% to 8% annual sales growth. The company flagged cocoa price volatility, trade tariffs, geopolitical risks, and evolving consumer behavior as key uncertainties.
