L'Oréal Q3 2026 Sales Jump 11.9 Percent, Beating Forecasts

L'Oréal grew third-quarter 2026 sales 11.9 percent in reported terms, beating both analyst consensus and its own market. The world's largest beauty company posted revenue of 11.56 billion euros in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Paris-based maker of Lancôme, La Roche-Posay and Garnier said in a statement released after market close Thursday.

The figures translate into a 7.2 percent like-for-like gain and a 7.7 percent adjusted like-for-like increase. Vera consensus had expected growth of 5.4 percent; Barclays forecast 5.7 percent. The global beauty market itself is advancing at approximately 5 percent, meaning L'Oréal outpaced it by more than two percentage points on a like-for-like basis.

What drove the beat?

Professional Products and Dermatological Beauty spurred the growth, alongside a strong recovery in the Luxe division. Every division and every region grew. The SAPMENA-SSA zone — South Asia-Pacific, Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa — led the group, while developed regions also registered strong momentum. Travel retail returned to positive growth in North Asia.

By category, fragrance and hair care are driving growth, and skin care continues to step up its pace. E-commerce sales rose approximately 17 percent, which the company said was well ahead of the online market, with strong results across all regions, especially emerging markets.

CEO Nicolas Hieronimus called the quarter "exceptional." He said: "The global beauty market, once again, proved its resilience in a challenging context, and we continue to significantly outpace it. Driven by the success of our innovation plan and the passion of our teams, we continue to win in hair care and fragrances, but are now also outperforming the market in the all-important skin care category."

Which deals closed in the quarter?

The quarter carried strategic weight beyond the sales line:

• L'Oréal closed the acquisition of Innovist, an India-based digital-first personal care portfolio of brands.
• L'Oréal's BOLD corporate venture fund and Nykka, India's largest beauty retailer, formed a partnership to take minority stakes in high-growth Indian beauty, personal care and wellness brands.
• L'Oréal and Cosmax, the Korean cosmetics research, development and manufacturing company, signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on next-generation beauty innovations.

What does this mean for the full year?

For the first nine months of 2026, sales reached 35.34 billion euros, up 7.7 percent on a reported basis. In both like-for-like and adjusted like-for-like terms, sales grew 6.9 percent in the period. Hieronimus signaled the momentum should carry through: "Our performance in the first nine months gives me confidence that L'Oréal will deliver another year of growth in sales and profit, whilst strengthening our global leadership."

The India and Korea moves suggest the next phase of growth will be built as much on acquisitions and partnerships in emerging markets as on the product pipeline itself.