Schwarz Group Increases Revenue to 185.6 Billion Euros in 2025 and Plans Investments of Over Ten Billion

Lidl and Kaufland Grow in Store Business

Lidl remains the largest pillar: the discounter increased its revenue by 6.1 percent to just over 140 billion euros. "The plus resulted primarily from the expansion of the store network and customer growth in Germany and Europe," the company explained. Kaufland grew by 4.3 percent to 36.7 billion euros. Together, Lidl and Kaufland operate around 14,500 stores in 33 countries, 300 more than a year earlier.

The internally billed revenues of the group's own production companies, which supply Lidl and Kaufland, grew disproportionately by 23.9 percent to around 5.7 billion euros. The portfolio includes, among others, a large-scale bakery, a nut roaster, and a beverage manufacturer. "The significant plus of 23.9 percent was also due, among other things, to the acquisition of the jam and honey manufacturer Göbber," it was stated. Schwarz Produktion is also investing more than 300 million euros in the expansion of the large-scale bakery Bonback in Halle (Saale), which is expected to create more than 400 additional jobs.

Schwarz Digits Doubles Growth Pace

The IT and digital division Schwarz Digits was also a growth driver, increasing its revenue by 15.8 percent to 2.2 billion euros, up from 1.9 billion euros in the previous year. The increase is "substantially" attributable to growing demand for cloud solutions. Schwarz is positioning itself as a European alternative to providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. "Schwarz is bereits länger auch als IT-Dienstleister unterwegs und will sich als europäische Alternative zu Anbietern wie Amazon Web Services und Microsoft Azure aufstellen," the group explained.

In Lübbenau, construction meanwhile began on a 200-megawatt data center, which is expected to be one of the most modern in Europe. In addition, there is another billion-euro data center in Brandenburg. According to its own information, Schwarz Digits is cooperating with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to develop sovereign cloud solutions for public administration.

In e-commerce, the combined online revenues of Lidl and Kaufland stagnated at 1.7 billion euros. Kaufland, however, expanded its online marketplace to Italy and France and is now present in seven European countries. As is customary, the Schwarz Group did not comment on the group's profitability: "Zum Ergebnis machte die Schwarz-Gruppe keine Angaben."

PreZero and the Circular Economy

The recycling and disposal subsidiary PreZero increased its revenue by 5.1 percent to 4.1 billion euros. With the acquisition of RE.LION.BAT, the company also expanded its involvement in battery recycling. There is a strategic cooperation with the BMW Group in the recycling of end-of-life vehicles. Group-wide, Schwarz pursues the goal of "Road to Zero Waste," aiming to reuse, recycle, compost, or ferment around 95 percent of internal waste by 2030.

Investments of Over Ten Billion Euros Planned

In the past fiscal year, the group invested around nine billion euros, of which 3.7 billion in Germany. "Im laufenden Geschäftsjahr sollen die Investitionen auf mehr als 10 Milliarden Euro wachsen, davon rund 5 Milliarden Euro in Deutschland," the company announced. Funds will flow into expanding market share in the core business as well as into digital activities.

To secure supply chains between Asia and Europe, Lidl ordered five new ships for its own Tailwind fleet. Group CEO Gerd Chrzanowski placed the fiscal year in a broader context: "Die Unternehmen der Schwarz Gruppe sind trotz wirtschaftlicher und geopolitischer Krisen auch im Geschäftsjahr 2025 deutlich gewachsen. Diese starke Leistung ist das Verdienst von über 600.000 engagierten Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern."

Chrzanowski, who as Komplementär manages the affairs of the Schwarz Group, combined the annual results with a political commitment: "Wir übernehmen Verantwortung am Wirtschaftsstandort Deutschland und leisten unseren Beitrag für ein starkes, souveränes Europa." Looking to the future, he added: "Mit gezielten Investitionen und strategischen Partnerschaften stärken wir die Zukunftsfähigkeit unseres Ökosystems."