L’Oréal Group Sees Stable Growth in Q3

Earnings

By Ella Graveney

October 22, 2026

Celine Dion performs at the L’Oréal Paris Express Your Worth runway during Paris Fashion Week SS27. Photo: Stephane Cardinale Corbis

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L’Oréal Group sales rose 6.9% like-for-like in the third quarter of 2026 to €35.3 billion, following a 6% uplift in Q2.

The professional products (including Kerastase and Redken) and dermatological beauty (Cerave and La Roche-Posay) divisions were standouts, up 12.1% and 12.2%, respectively.

South Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa (SAPMENA-SSA) remains a growth engine, up 19.2%.

Following the incorporation of House of Creed and the Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga beauty licenses, the luxe sector is up 6.4%, versus 2.5% in Q3 2025.

The breakdown

The group’s 6.9% uplift follows 7.6% and 6% sales growth in the first and second quarters of the year, respectively. Despite minor fluctuations, the French beauty conglomerate is proving to sustain a solid trajectory as it pushes further away from the rest of the global beauty market, which sits at an average of 5% revenue growth for Q3, according to CEO Nicolas Hieronimus.

“We delivered an exceptional third quarter,” Hieronimus said on Thursday’s call. “We significantly outperformed the market across the vast majority of our categories, divisions, and regions. Thanks to the success of our innovation plan, we continue to win in haircare and fragrances, and we are outperforming in skincare — a category I was not happy with last year.”

Growth was spurred by the professional products division, with sales climbing 12.1% to €4 billion, as well as dermatological beauty, up 12.2% to €1.9 billion. As for the latter, La Roche-Posay, Cerave and Skinceuticals were recognized by Hieronimus for their double-digit growth. Consumer products, which includes brands such as L’Oréal Paris and Maybelline, lagged behind, albeit at 4.3% growth to €4 billion.

L’Oréal’s acquisition of Kering Beauté, which closed on March 31, folded the House of Creed, along with the 50-year licenses of Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga fragrance and beauty, into its luxe portfolio. The division, which has faced a mixed performance over the past few years, grew 6.4% in the quarter — a contrast to Q3 2025’s 2.5% uplift.

Hieronimus called out the double-digit growth at House of Creed, along with the success of its most recent fragrance launch, Iris Debonair, among across male and female consumers.

The CEO said he was “very happy” with the performance across SAPMENA-SSA, which hit 19.2% growth to €1.2 billion, specifically in Vietnam and Indonesia, where competition from local brands is rife. Europe spurred sales, growing 9.9% to €4 billion, particularly in Spain, Portugal and Poland — a contrast for the region versus previous quarters, according to CFO Christophe Babule.

North American growth sat at 2.2%, while Latin American sales fell by 1% to €915 million; while Brazil witnessed particular momentum, Mexico’s negative growth was a result of commercial and supply chain issues in the makeup category.

“Regarding the rest of the year, we expect the beauty market to grow around 5%, and we will continue to outperform, albeit at a slightly more moderate rate,” Hieronimus added. “We will deliver on a full-year basis our topline growth forecasted last year.”

LVMH’s perfumes and cosmetics division reported a 1% sales increase in Q3 , while Hermès’s perfume and beauty sales rose 7.5% to €128 million. Spanish beauty conglomerate Puig saw 5.6% like-for-like growth to €1.39 billion. Estée Lauder Companies will report its first fiscal quarter on November 2.