A study released by the publication “Manager Magazin” reveals a significant shift among Germany’s 100 largest family-owned enterprises, showing that these companies have broken away from their previous long-term growth path. According to Mark Binz, Senior Partner at Binz & Partner and the study’s editor, the figures demonstrate that even these highly successful German family businesses can no longer insulate themselves from the current economic environment.
The overall inflation-adjusted revenue for these 100 companies reached €1.61 trillion in 2025. Furthermore, the combined staff count shrank by one percent, while total revenue declined by roughly two percent.
Within this group, the 22 family-owned companies listed on the stock exchange saw both their revenue and profits decrease. For these listed firms, EBITDA fell by an average of 27 percent. Among those companies cited are Volkswagen, Schaeffler, Henkel, Aumovio, and Wacker Chemie.
However, a few companies managed to increase both their revenue and employee numbers despite the general trend. These include the Schwarz Gruppe (which operates Lidl, Kaufland, and Schwarz Digits), the pharmaceutical wholesaler Phoenix, and the healthcare conglomerate Fresenius.
