Despite continuing to outperform the market as a whole, beauty’s biggest player was not immune to the market’s challenges in 2024. The company described the year as “a tale of two halves,” with a strong first six months followed by weakness in the latter part of the year due to the global slowdown and ongoing challenges in China. Had it not been for the North Asia region, its sales would have advanced in the high single digits, it said.

L’Oréal continued to sharpen its portfolio in 2024 with the acquisitions of the Miu Miu beauty license and South Korean skin care brand Dr. G. The deal with Miu Miu, whose license was previously held by Coty Inc., builds on L’Oréal’s successful partnership with Prada since 2021; the first fragrances to be developed under L’Oréal are set to launch this year. Dr. G, previously owned by Swiss retailer Migros under Gowoonsesang Cosmetics Co. Ltd., was founded by dermatologist Dr. Gun Young Ahn in 2003 and consistently ranks among the top three mass-market and dermocosmetics brands in South Korea, according to L’Oréal. The brand joins L’Oréal’s Consumer Products Division alongside 3CE, another K-beauty player that L’Oréal bought in 2018.

It also made several minority investments as it looks to acquire insight into growth categories and new segments. These included a 10% stake in pure-play dermatology leader Galderma, which went public last March; an investment in Yesskin, a Chinese skin clinic chain, and a stake in Chinese mass-market beauty firm Chando Group. L’Oréal also agreed to acquire the outstanding shares in Gjosa, the water-saving pioneer with which it has been partnering since 2015.

The renewed acquisition streak continued into early 2025, with L’Oréal taking minority stakes in Middle Eastern fragrance house Amouage and fashion world darling Jacquemus, with the latter deal including a beauty license, while its Bold investment vehicle participated in a funding round for buzzy South Korean fragrance brand Borntostandout.

Late last year, the company sold off Decléor and Saint Gervais Mont-Blanc to newly created French company Cospal. This March, it announced it was selling Carol’s Daughter, for textured hair, to an unnamed entrepreneur, with its founder Lisa Price taking a stake in the brand and becoming its president.

Despite 2024 top-line numbers some analysts found disappointing, L’Oréal doubled down on profits, achieving record gross and operating margins. Excluding Aēsop, acquired from Natura&Co. in 2023, its operating margin grew by 40 basis points, it said, to reach a record high of 20%.

CEO Nicolas Hieronimus called 2024 a “defining year” for the company with investments in future-proofing the business, including augmented marketing and research and innovation capabilities with AI and technology. It continued to invest in biotech, taking a stake in Swiss longevity biotech company Timeline via Bold and partnering with British biotech Senisca. It simplified its organizational structure and strengthened industrial and supply chain resilience. Key initiatives include a new fulfillment center in Suzhou, China, and localized production for brands including CeraVe.

As to performance, the Consumer Products mass market division’s growth came from a balance of volume, price and mix as it captured opportunities to democratize and premiumize the mass market. L’Oréal Paris had “an outstanding year,” according to the company, and Mixa, the division’s fastest-growing brand last year, expanded to new markets. Strong momentum in Europe and emerging markets including Mexico, Brazil, India and Thailand offset softer business in the U.S. and China.

L’Oréal Luxe reportedly grew double-digits except in North Asia, with North America, where it became the number-one luxury beauty player for the first time, its largest growth contributor. In China, despite market softness, L’Oréal Luxe remained the market leader and continued to grow ahead of the market both on and offline, driven by the expansion of Prada and Valentino and recent acquisitions Aēsop and Takami. The addition of Aēsop and growth in fragrance drove gains for the division overall, which, excluding North Asia, saw its sales up 10% on a like-for-like basis. Fragrance was driven by Paradoxe by Prada, Born in Roma by Valentino, Libre by Yves Saint Laurent, for women, and Stronger with You by Armani, Wanted by Azzaro, Polo 67 by Ralph Lauren and Myslf by Yves Saint Laurent for men. Makeup was fueled by Yves Saint Laurent. In skin care, Aēsop, Takami and Youth to the People continued to expand internationally with encouraging results, according to the company.

L’Oréal’s Dermatological Beauty division was by far its fastest growing, outpacing the global dermocosmetics market, which remains dynamic despite a gradual slowdown, according to the company. The activity did particularly well in emerging markets. Brand-wise, La Roche-Posay led growth, and the company said it has “taken the baton” from CeraVe, becoming the world’s third-largest skin care brand across channels. Despite stabilization in the U.S., CeraVe crossed the €2 billion sales threshold, driven by international expansion. Vichy, SkinCeuticals and Skinbetter Science also did well. 

Acceleration on e-commerce and the growth of premium hair care in selective distribution drove gains for the Professional Products division, which saw growth across established and emerging markets. Kérastase grew double-digits and became the division’s largest brand, while the performance of L’Oréal Professionnel and Redken was “solid,” L’Oréal said.

By region, Europe was the biggest growth contributor to business, with Spain and Portugal, the U.K. and Ireland and Germany, Austria and Switzerland among the best performers.

In early February this year, L’Oréal said it had agreed to sell approximately 29.6 million shares in Sanofi to Sanofi for €101.50 per share, for a total consideration of €3 billion, in order to optimize its balance sheet. Subsequent to the transaction, it will own 7.2% of Sanofi’s share capital.