As high-end luxury goods lose ground amid economic pressures, L’Oréal SA (OTCMKTS: LRLCF) (EPA: OR) has risen to the top of the stock market rankings among French companies.
This change took place on Sept. 15, when L’Oréal officially overtook LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTCMKTS: LVMHF) (FRA: MOH). The beauty and skincare company’s market capitalisation reached around US$234 billion, ahead of LVMH’s US$232 billion at the close of trading on the Paris Bourse/Euronext Paris. It was the first time since 2017 that a non-luxury firm held the top spot by day’s end. LVMH shares fell more than 2 per cent during Tuesday’s session amid broader sector weakness.
Several forces explain L’Oréal’s rise and LVMH’s slide. A prolonged economic slowdown in China, once the luxury industry’s main growth engine, combined with the effects of conflict in the Middle East to shrink high-end sales over three years. Persistent price rises have pushed many buyers away. American consultancy Bain & Company estimates that around 60 million consumers have stopped purchasing luxury goods. LVMH’s shares have dropped roughly 35 per cent year-to-date as demand among those without deep pockets weakened.
L’Oréal gained ground because consumers tend to still buy smaller, more affordable items in tougher times. Its e-commerce channel delivered particularly strong results, growing in double digits — nearly twice as fast as the wider market — and making up more than 30 per cent of group sales. This digital performance, especially in emerging markets and more resilient regions, helped offset pressures from China’s slowdown and Middle Eastern disruptions. L’Oreal shares rose about 5 per cent this year as a result.
A cosmetics company is now the most valuable company in France.
L’Oréal’s market capitalisation now is a whopping $234 billion.
Which sectors and companies receive the highest valuations keep changing.
I never thought even a cosmetics company could become the most highly…
— Muthukrishnan Dhandapani (@dmuthuk) September 16, 2026
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The world’s largest cosmetics company
L’Oréal holds the position of the world’s largest cosmetics firm by a substantial margin. Founded in 1909 by chemist Eugène Schueller as a maker of hair dyes, the company expanded through research-driven progress, went public in 1963 and acquired key brands such as Lancôme, Garnier and Maybelline. Through successive leadership teams and further strategic purchases it built a dominant global position in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Its main competitors lag well behind. Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) ranks second with significantly lower beauty-related sales, followed by Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE: PG) (ETR: PRG) and Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL) (FRA: ELAA), whose combined scale remains a fraction of L’Oréal’s roughly US$48 billion annual turnover.
The French personal care corporation’s broad portfolio across dermatological segments continues to underpin its dominance.
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