L’Oréal CEO Nicolas Hieronimus praised the “exceptional” third quarter and the return of the skin care category, which had underperformed in 2025. Like-for-like (LFL) sales for the French beauty company increased by 7.2% to €11.6 billion during the three-month period ending 30 September, and rose 7.7% on an adjusted basis. The company saw growth across all divisions, with “remarkable” achievements in its professional products and dermatological beauty divisions, alongside a “strong recovery” in its luxury segment.
Divisions drive growth and expansion
Hair care and fragrances were strong, but the company is now also outperforming the market in the skin care category. E-commerce growth was well ahead of the market, with spectacular results across all regions, notably emerging markets.
Across the board, L’Oréal saw sales increases in every region except Latin America. The regions of Europe and SAPMENA – SSA were key drivers of this growth. Although Latin America as a whole did not see significant growth, Brazil experienced double-digit growth, whereas Mexico only saw mid-single-digit growth due to various market and commercial issues.
L’OrĂ©al’s strong performance in SAPMENA – SSA, particularly in India, and in developed regions like Europe, demonstrates the company’s ability to succeed in diverse markets. According to Hieronimus, this success reinforces his belief that L’OrĂ©al is well-positioned for long-term growth, especially with the integration of artificial intelligence to enhance its business model.
For a consumer facing a crowded shelf, the relentless push into new territories can sometimes dilute a brand’s core identity. When a company abandons its original promise to chase every emerging trend, the result is often a fragmented identity that fails to resonate with the loyal customer base. True growth, in this context, requires a disciplined focus on what made the brand successful in the first place, rather than a scattering of efforts across every new channel.
Specific brand performance
KĂ©rastase experienced double-digit growth thanks to new product launches such as Gloss Absolu and Genesis. While the hair colour market was more challenging, the division still managed to outpace the market with sales growth.
Notable performers included L’Oréal Paris and NYX Professional Makeup. The company also expanded its regional mass skin care brands and introduced new products to various markets, including the launch of Dr.G in the US via TikTok Shop.
Dr.G’s launch in the US on TikTok Shop in October marked a significant move for the brand, which is already popular in Southeast Asia. Hieronimus expressed interest in leveraging the Korean wave in Western markets. Additionally, L’OrĂ©al Paris and Garnier expanded their skin care offerings with new products like Glass Skin and Dry Touch.
New launches like Prada Paradigme and Yves Saint Laurent’s Libre contributed to this growth. Recent acquisitions, including Creed, also performed well, with Creed delivering a strong performance and growing in double-digits.
“I am very happy with the performance of Creed, which is also growing double-digits,” said Hieronimus. “As I said last time, it fills the gap in our premium end fragrances, [and] they just launched a new fragrance called Iris Debonair, which is doing great, and that is also contributing to our overall fragrance performance, both in male and female.”
New product launches, such as La Roche-Posay’s Mela B3 Double-Dose, contributed to this success.
On the call with investors, Hieronimus also highlighted the growing importance of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. “We also see, which is a very important phenomenon for us, the rise of the use of GLP-1 is having an impact on beauty consumption and skin care consumption, in particular,” he said. “So, we have products in Skinceuticals, but also in Kiehl’s, that have been designed to work alongside and complement GLP-1, and its side effects on skin sagging or other things like that.”
