The September date on Bayer’s legal calendar now carries more weight than ever. A US court in Missouri has pushed back the hearing on the proposed Roundup settlement from August 19 to September 14, after the company and the plaintiffs’ side jointly requested the postponement last Thursday. The delay extends a period of uncertainty that has become the defining feature of the stock’s risk profile.
Yet the company enters this waiting game from a position of improved financial flexibility. Alongside its second-quarter results, Bayer trimmed its year-end net financial debt forecast to €29–30 billion, down from a previous range of €32–33 billion. That tightening of the balance sheet provides a cushion should the…