Company Reports

We will discontinue analyst coverage of Puig Brands on or about April 20.

We think Puig's management has done a commendable job sharpening the firm's premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization tailwinds globally. However, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to wide-moat peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

On March 23, Estee Lauder confirmed that it is in talks with Puig about a potential merger but did not offer details. Shares of Estee Lauder fell 8% during trading hours after The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reported on the potential deal.

Puig posted 8% like-for-like sales growth in 2025's second half led by a 23% rise in makeup (18% of sales). Fragrances (72%) grew 5% despite tough comparison of a 16% rise a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin widened 60 basis points to 21.9% on a favorable mix and expense leverage.

We think chairman and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization tailwinds globally. However, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to wide-moat peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

Puig posted 6% like-for-like sales growth in the third quarter, led by increases of 19% in makeup and 11% in skincare. By region, sales in the small Asia Pacific segment (10% of revenue) surged 36% outpacing the core Europe (up 4%) and the Americas (up 2%).

We think chairman and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. However, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

In 2025's first half, Puig posted 8% like-for-like sales growth, and a 9% adjusted EBITDA rise (margin widened 50 basis points to 19.4%). Management reaffirmed its full-year outlook for 6%-8% like-for-like sales growth and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion.

We think chairman and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. However, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

Puig posted 8% like-for-like sales growth to EUR 2.3 billion in the first half of 2025, led by a 9% rise in the core fragrance segment. By region, organic sales in the Americas and Asia expanded 11% and 17%, respectively, and outpaced Puig's home market of Europe (up 4%).

We think chairman and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. That said, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

Puig posted 8% like-for-like sales growth in the first quarter of 2025 to EUR 1.2 billion, led by a 10% increase in its core fragrance segment. Management maintained its 2025 outlook of like-for-like sales growth in the 6% to 8% range and a positive trajectory in adjusted EBITDA margin.

Beauty names came under pressure following the Donald Trump administration’s tariff announcements on April 2, mainly reflecting investor concerns over higher costs for products from Europe. US-based Estee Lauder and Coty sold off 15% and 7%, respectively, while price movements were milder for Europe-based peers L’Oreal (negative 2%) and Puig (negative 5%).

We think chair and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. That said, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

No-moat beauty product maker Puig posted solid 2024 results. While there was no surprise on the sales result (which was announced Jan. 30), adjusted EBITDA of EUR 969 million rose 12% and edged our EUR 958 million estimate by 1% on expense leverage. For 2025, we plan to trim our 8.3% sales growth forecast to align with the company's 6%-8% outlook as we incorporate normalizing fragrance sales and potential US retailer caution, given tariff uncertainties. However, we expect this to be more than offset by better efficiency gains from merger integration, resulting in a low-single-digit percentage lift to our prior 2025 adjusted EBITDA estimate. Our EUR 23 fair value estimate remains in place.

We think chair and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. That said, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and a small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

No-moat beauty product maker Puig posted a solid 2024 sales update that slightly exceeded our expectations. Full-year revenue of EUR 4.79 billion was up 11% like for like, edging our EUR 4.75 billion forecast, which we attribute to outperformance in its core fragrance category (sales up 14% versus our 10% estimate). The strong sales report gives us confidence that our 2024 projection for 12% adjusted EBITDA growth remains on track, and we plan to maintain our EUR 23 fair value estimate, rendering shares attractive. The company is scheduled to release full results on Feb. 27.

No-moat beauty product maker Puig delivered a strong third-quarter sales update, posting 11% revenue growth led by strength in fragrances, which make up 74% of total sales. With sales up 10% in the first nine months and retailers still keen to raise fragrance inventories heading into the holiday season, we think our 2024 projections for sales and adjusted EBITDA to grow 10% and 12%, respectively, remain achievable. We plan no changes to our 10-year forecasts for 8% annual sales growth and adjusted EBITDA margins averaging 20%. The shares appear undervalued relative to our EUR 23 fair value estimate.

We think chair and CEO Marc Puig has done a commendable job sharpening Puig’s premium focus and expanding its brand collection through acquisitions, thus positioning the small beauty product maker well to benefit from premiumization trends globally. That said, we’re not convinced Puig has carved out an economic moat, given its lack of brand intangibles and small scale relative to moaty peers L'Oréal and Estée Lauder.

Shares of no-moat beauty product maker Puig slumped 14% on Sept. 6 following its first-half results update, likely due to a 27% drop in reported net profit. However, we think the market correction was too harsh, as the profit decline was mainly driven by one-time costs related to its May IPO. Underlying performance was solid, with 9.6% sales growth led by strength in its fragrance business (73% of sales) and a 7.4% increase in adjusted EBITDA. Our 2024 projections for sales and adjusted EBITDA to grow 10% and 12%, respectively, remain in place. Further, we plan no changes to our 10-year forecasts for high-single-digit percentage sales growth and a 20% average adjusted EBITDA margins, or our EUR 23 per share fair value estimate. Shares look slightly undervalued.