Germany’s large publicly listed companies noticeably improved the quality of their corporate governance over the past year, according to the Scorecard for Corporate Governance compiled by the Society of Investment Professionals in Germany (DVFA). „The positive results of the tenth evaluation round are an encouraging signal for the capital market as a whole, and show that the scorecard has also become firmly established among companies,“ says Hendrik Schmidt, head of the responsible DVFA expert committee.

The overall score for Dax members is 85.15%, which is more than five percentage points higher than last year’s value of 79.93%. The biggest improvements were recorded in the categories „Shareholders and Annual General Meeting“ and „Management Board“. In contrast, DVFA gives lower marks this year for the category „Financial Reporting and Audit“.

Analysts note that shortcomings remain in defining non financial performance criteria for management board members. Women also continue to be underrepresented in senior executive levels below the management board, as only a few companies reach a share of at least 30 per cent women in these positions.

There is also room for improvement in the supervisory board. Very few companies provide meaningful information about the nomination process for new members of the oversight body. Companies also often fail to explain why the supervisory board possesses the necessary qualifications to perform its tasks. Detailed reports on the dialogue between the chair of the supervisory board and investors are rarely found. Furthermore, the dialogue with stakeholders is often presented only in a superficial and not very informative manner.

In the category „Financial Reporting and Audit“, the analysts observe that the comparability of management board remuneration has declined significantly following the discontinuation of the standard reporting tables previously required under the German Corporate Governance Code.

The chemical distributor Brenntag is the top performer in the governance ranking of Dax companies, as it was in 2024. Unlike last year, 14 companies earned DVFA’s highest rating of „excellent“ in 2025, compared to just two previously. Fresenius, DHL, and Beiersdorf follow Brenntag in the ranking. Fresenius is the year’s big climber, having moved from rank 22 to the top group. At the bottom of the ranking, Porsche has passed the „red lantern“ on to Henkel.

In the MDax, the overall score also rose significantly, from 67.83 per cent to 71.96 per cent this year. The top spot in Germany’s second stock market tier went to engineering group Gea Group, followed by Thyssenkrupp and Teamviewer.

DVFA said that the Scorecard for Corporate Governance has set standards for a decade, and provides clear direction. „Companies recognise the added value of good corporate governance and approach the topic strategically,“ says DVFA board member Ingo Speich. The high response rates – over 87% in the Dax and over 55% in the MDax – demonstrate „a strong awareness and genuine interest,“ adds Schmidt.