Knorr-Bremse, the global market and technology leader for braking systems and leading supplier of other innovative solutions for the rail and commercial vehicle industry, achieved its 2025 guidance. Operating EBIT topped €1 billion at €1,016 million with the margin expanded to 13.0 percent. Consolidated revenues reached €7,817 million despite divestments while free cash flow hit a record €790 million.
Highlights
- Guidance achieved for 2025 with operating EBIT topping €1 billion and EBIT margin expanded to 13 percent
- Consolidated revenues of €7,817 million despite divestments and record free cash flow of €790 million
- Q4 2025 especially successful with strong organic revenue growth of 6.4 percent and higher profitability in both divisions
- High order intake of €8,417 million and order book of €7,362 million
Sizable Margin Increase and Record Free Cash Flow
2025 was another year full of uncertainties. Despite these challenges, Knorr-Bremse developed very successfully in terms of revenues, earnings and cash flow. The company drove this performance through consistent implementation of the BOOST strategy with clear focus on portfolio optimization, cost discipline and lowering the break-even point.
The full effect of the BOOST measures on performance was especially evident in the fourth quarter. Stringent execution of the initiatives to increase earnings and enhance efficiency resulted in significant margin expansion and a record free cash flow.
Order intake reached €8,417 million, nearly 3 percent higher than the prior-year figure. The book-to-bill ratio increased slightly to 1.08. The order book stood at €7,362 million as of December 31, 2025.
Consolidated revenues in organic terms increased by 1.9 percent. Revenues remained essentially stable at €7,817 million after divestments of R.H. Sheppard and GT Emissions Systems and negative currency effects. Organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter came in at a robust 6.4 percent.
Operating EBIT rose by €50 million to €1,016 million. The operating EBIT margin improved to 13.0 percent from 12.3 percent. In the fourth quarter, profitability increased by 140 basis points to 17.0 percent for Rail and by 180 basis points to 11.3 percent for Truck.
Free cash flow continuously improved and reached €471 million in the last quarter alone. Full-year operating free cash flow hit €790 million. The cash conversion rate reached 131 percent on an operating basis.
Rail Division Achieves New Records
The Rail Division turned in a very strong performance again in 2025 and accounted for a large share of results. Positive order trends in all regions, especially Asia and North America, and favorable development of KB Signaling supported this outcome.
- Order intake rose by over 7 percent to €4,774 million
- Order book reached a new record of €5,576 million as of December 31, 2025
- Revenues hit a new all-time high of €4,316 million
- Operating EBIT recorded a substantial increase of over 10 percent to €713 million
- Operating EBIT margin rose to 16.5 percent
Truck Division Maintains Stable Double-Digit Return
The Truck Division performed well in a very challenging market environment and recorded only moderate declines year over year. Higher demand in Europe, a robust aftermarket business and cost control measures supported results.
- Order intake amounted to €3,644 million
- Order book stood at €1,788 million as of December 31, 2025 despite divestments
- Revenues came in at €3,503 million
- Operating EBIT reached €363 million
- Operating EBIT margin remained stable at 10.4 percent
BOOST Program Advancing with Portfolio Optimization and Focused Investments
In the first phase of the BOOST program since 2023, Knorr-Bremse concentrated on structural and organizational improvements. The company systematically cut costs and optimized its portfolio. Business units sold to date generated revenue in excess of €400 million.
In the second phase, the company focuses on increasing attractive growth. Knorr-Bremse expanded its business in profitable cutting-edge fields with high-margin acquisitions such as KB Signaling in 2024 and the recent purchases of duagon Group and TRAVIS Road Services. Duagon broadens the offering of electronics and software for the rail industry while TRAVIS expands aftermarket solutions for commercial vehicles as a digital platform solution.
The company places strong emphasis on its digitalization strategy. In addition to its own center for artificial intelligence currently being set up in India, Knorr-Bremse is driving forward its AI transformation with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The aim of this project is to use powerful AI systems to make the company even faster and more agile in the long term (see press release dated February 16, 2026).
Executive Comments
Marc Llistosella, Chief Executive Officer of Knorr-Bremse AG: “Our very positive business development and strong financial figures for 2025 show that Knorr-Bremse remains on course for success. We have set the stage for sustainable growth and profitability with our BOOST strategy. The fourth quarter in particular was exceptionally good, as we had continuously built up our resilience quarter by quarter. The steady strong performance of our Rail Division is driving our commercial success; the Truck Division also delivered good results in very challenging markets. This year, we will press ahead with our BOOST measures to accelerate our growth, move forward with the digitalization of our solutions, and become an even stronger partner to our customers worldwide. We are expanding our product portfolio by making focused investments like the acquisition of the successful electronics provider duagon in Rail and the leading online booking platform TRAVIS in Truck. At the same time, we are continuing to invest in our existing business, for example by opening our new AI center in Chennai. This will reinforce our digitalization strategy which enables us to tap into opportunities for growth in pioneering fields of technology.”
Frank Weber, Chief Financial Officer of Knorr-Bremse AG: “The development of our KPIs in the 2025 fiscal year underscores the extent of our company’s sustainable earnings capacity and considerable financial stability. We demonstrated our financial strength with a significant increase in free cash flow to over €790 million, a cash conversion rate well above 100 percent once more, and a further improvement in the operating EBIT margin to 13 percent. The strong year-end results were bolstered by significant contributions in the fourth quarter. This is all down to our systematic cost-cutting and portfolio optimization as part of our BOOST strategy. At the forefront of our priorities is lowering our fixed costs. In total, more than 10,000 measures are still being implemented with the aim of deploying capital and resources in a more focused manner and securing structural efficiency gains in the long term.”
Guidance for 2026
Assuming that the geopolitical and macroeconomic environments remain stable, the company expects revenues between €8,000 million and €8,300 million, an operating EBIT margin of around 14 percent, and free cash flow between €750 million and €850 million for the 2026 fiscal year.
In order to remain strategically well positioned beyond 2026 and continue to grow profitably in the long term, Knorr-Bremse may incur restructuring costs of up to €30 million, among other things to optimize its global production footprint.
The figures presented here are preliminary and unaudited. The full annual financial statements and annual report will be published on www.knorr-bremse.com on March 19, 2026.
A video recording of the annual press conference with Chief Executive Officer Marc Llistosella and Chief Financial Officer Frank Weber on the preliminary figures for the 2025 fiscal year will be provided in the Knorr-Bremse Newsroom section of the website.
A webcast for investors with Chief Executive Officer Marc Llistosella and Chief Financial Officer Frank Weber on the preliminary figures for the 2025 fiscal year will be held today at 1 p.m. (CET). The presentations are available on www.knorr-bremse.com.
Key Figures of Knorr-Bremse Group
| Metric | 2025 (EUR million) | 2024 (EUR million) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order intake | 8,417.2 | 8,186.0 | +2.8% |
| Order book (Dec. 31) | 7,362.3 | 7,181.5 | +2.5% |
| Revenues | 7,817.3 | 7,883.2 | -0.8% |
| Operating EBIT | 1,016.0 | 966.4 | +5.1% |
| Operating EBIT margin | 13.0% | 12.3% | +70 bp |
| Free cash flow | 789.9 | 729.8 | +8.2% |
Rail Division
- Order intake: €4,774.2 million (+7.5%)
- Revenues: €4,316.4 million (+6.7%)
- Operating EBIT: €713.1 million (+13.2%)
- Operating EBIT margin: 16.5% (+90 bp)
Truck Division
- Order intake: €3,644.5 million (-2.8%)
- Revenues: €3,503.5 million (-8.8%)
- Operating EBIT: €363.3 million (-9.4%)
- Operating EBIT margin: 10.4% (stable)
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