The Tamesis
L’Oreal Group’s fourth-quarter sales increased 6% year-on-year to 11.2 billion euros, slightly lower than analysts’ expectations of 6.3% growth. This marked an acceleration in sales growth after revenue growth fell 4.2% in the third quarter. For the full year of 2025 ended December 31, group sales increased by 4% to 44 billion euros.
“The past 18 months have been challenging for L’Oréal,” Bernstein analyst Callum Elliott wrote in a note shared ahead of earnings on February 10. “Global beauty growth peaked at around 8% in 2021, with growth slowing to around 4% in 2025, the slowest pace since the European debt crisis of 2013 to 2015. However, in 2025 As the year ends, we see the beginnings of recovery.”
By comparison, Estée Lauder Co’s second-quarter sales rose 4% to $4.16 billion, while LVMH’s fragrances and cosmetics unit reported a 1% organic sales decline to 2.13 billion euros in the fourth quarter. Elliott noted that “messages from peers are mixed, with LVMH’s beauty numbers weak but Estée’s strong, which confuses the interpretation of luxury goods. [as a whole]”.
At L’Oréal, skin care products, including Cerave and La Roche-Posay, led the company’s growth, with fourth-quarter sales rising 11.5%. Professional products (Kérastase, Redken) rose 7.6%, consumer goods (L’Oréal Paris, Maybelline) rose 4.8%, and L’Oréal luxury goods (Kiehl’s, Yves Saint Laurent) rose 4.5%. From a geographical perspective, sales in North America (up 8.6%) and Latin America (up 8.2%) offset weaker sales in North Asia (up 0.6%). Europe rose 6.6% and SAPMENA-SSA (South Asia Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa) rose 10.7%.
“As we promised, organic revenue growth accelerated quarter-on-quarter, supported by the advancement of our launch plan and the gradual improvement in the beauty market,” L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said in a statement. The executive was “optimistic” and “confident” about the global beauty market in 2026. [L’Oréal’s] Thanks to L’Oréal’s multi-sector category strategy, we are well positioned to maintain our leading position and achieve another increase in sales and profits. “
