L'Oréal's first-quarter revenue grew 7.6% against the trend, with core markets in Europe and North America rebounding | Earnings Report Insights
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The world’s largest beauty group, L'Oréal, announced strong first quarter results, with demand recovering across multiple product lines, demonstrating the company’s resilience amid an overall slowdown in consumer spending.
According to data released by the company on Wednesday, first quarter sales reached €12.152 billion, up 7.6% year-on-year on a comparable basis. All four major business divisions recorded positive growth, with Professional Products (15.5%) and Dermatological Beauty (10.8%) both achieving double-digit increases. This significantly outperformed the global beauty market as a whole.
By region, the top two markets, Europe (10.3%) and North America (11.4%), both achieved double-digit growth. Same-store sales in North Asia fell by 4%, and the Middle East was affected by ongoing conflicts, suppressing consumer demand, with the UAE especially notable.
CEO Nicolas Hieronimus stated that the company not only outperformed the beauty market, but also accelerated global market share expansion. He is confident that sales and profit will both grow over the next year.
On March 31, L'Oréal completed the acquisition of Kering Group’s beauty business for €4 billion. The acquired assets include the perfume brand House of Creed, and L'Oréal obtained exclusive licenses for Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga perfume and beauty products for fifty years, significantly enhancing its portfolio of high-end beauty brands.
After the earnings announcement, L'Oréal’s American Depositary Receipts (ADR) rose more than 6% during trading. Its Paris-listed shares are down about 5.9% so far this year, but have far outperformed competitors—U.S. beauty giant Estée Lauder’s stock has fallen 28% in the same period.
Sales Recovery in Europe and North America
By region, same-store sales in Europe grew by 10.3%, with the Spain-Portugal and Germany-Austria-Switzerland clusters standing out, and e-commerce channels continuing to accelerate.
Same-store sales in North America grew by 11.4%, making it the second largest mature market. The overall beauty market remained active, and L'Oréal continued to gain market share thanks to successful innovative products and partnerships with retailers.
Same-store sales in North Asia fell by 4%. Meanwhile, the Middle East was affected by ongoing conflicts, suppressing consumer demand, with the UAE especially notable.
L'Oréal noted that, excluding the impact of IT system transformation, adjusted comparable revenue growth for the first quarter was 6.7%.
Business Units: Professional Haircare & Dermatological Beauty Lead, Luxury Beauty Recovery Confirmed
All four business divisions achieved same-store sales growth, with the Professional Products Division (PPD) and Dermatological Beauty Division (LDB) performing especially well.
Professional haircare products grew same-store sales by 15.5%, with new products like Kérastase Gloss Absolu Crème and Redken Acidic Growth Full performing strongly. Integration of the Color Wow brand is progressing smoothly and will be rolled out globally for the full year 2026.
Dermatological Beauty Division’s same-store sales grew by 10.8%, with La Roche-Posay maintaining momentum thanks to its Cicaplast series and Hyalu B5 Suractivated. CeraVe confirmed business turnaround across global regions, and SkinCeuticals’ A.G.E. Interrupter series continued to drive growth.
Luxury Beauty Division (Luxe) saw same-store sales grow 5.2%, confirming a recovery trend. Perfume remains the biggest growth engine, with classic series like Prada Paradigme, YSL Libre, and Valentino Born in Roma maintaining strength; the newly launched Emporio Armani Power of You started extremely well.
Consumer Products Division (CPD) saw same-store sales grow 5.8%, significantly outperforming the global mass beauty market in terms of sell-out.
L'Oréal, with its diverse product matrix covering professional skincare, mass makeup, and high-end fragrances, maintained relatively steady growth while competitors faced pressure.
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