L’Oréal has started 2026 with a much stronger-than-expected first quarter, a result that sent its shares sharply higher.

The strong results forced investors to reassess the beauty giant’s near-term outlook.

The company said first-quarter sales rose to €12.15 billion, up 3.6% on a reported basis and 7.6% like-for-like, or 6.7% on an adjusted basis after stripping out IT-timing effects.

The beat helped push the stock up almost 9% to about €375 in early Paris trading on Thursday, its best session in four years.

A broad-based beat, not a one-off

The scale of the reaction makes more sense when you look past the headline number.

This was not a narrow outperformance in one market or one category.

Professional Products grew 13.1% on an adjusted like-for-like basis, Dermatological Beauty rose 10.2%, and Luxe advanced 5.6%.

By region, Europe grew 5.5%, North America 7.6%, and North Asia returned to adjusted growth of 4.8%.

L’Oréal itself said the quarter reflected broader market-share gains, while the demand was strong across the US, China, and Europe.

That matters because the stock had been under pressure after a weaker February update.

In mid-February, L’Oréal reported fourth-quarter sales growth of 6%, but North Asia slowed to just 0.6%, far below expectations, and the shares sold off.

The latest quarter does more than beat estimates: it resets the narrative around whether L’Oréal has simply stabilised, or is reaccelerating from a soft patch.

Market-share story is now the key one

For investors, the most important takeaway is that L’Oréal is still growing faster than the beauty market itself.

In its release, the company said the adjusted 6.7% figure was “significantly ahead” of the global beauty market and that it had “accelerated” market-share gains around the world.

CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said the group was winning in fragrances, haircare, and makeup, with “encouraging signs” in skincare as well.

That mix suggests the business is not relying on one defensive pocket of demand, but on a portfolio that is still expanding across multiple price points.

The analysts described the quarter as evidence of resilience in a shaky consumer backdrop.

L’Oréal remains optimistic about 2026 sales and profit growth, even as broader concerns linger over geopolitics and consumer confidence.

In other words, the company is arguing that beauty remains a resilient spend category.

L'Oreal stock: How high can it go from here?

That is the central question after a near-9% one-day surge.

On the bullish side, the quarter just delivered the sort of broad, clean beat that can justify a higher multiple, especially after sentiment had cooled.

But the stock is not obviously cheap even after the jump.

TipRanks shows an average analyst target of €396.42 and a high forecast of €437, which suggests the market already had some room for optimism built in before the results.

Put differently, the first-quarter print may have removed the bear case, but it does not automatically guarantee another leg up.

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