Cosmetic stocks

On a global level, the cosmetics industry has an estimated value of $532bn. The cosmetics industry designs, manufactures and retails a wide range of beauty and personal care products, such as makeup, skincare, perfumes and hair products. Discover how you can get involved in investing in the beauty and cosmetics sectors by trading on some of the top global shares in the stock market. This is a potentially effective way to diversify your trading portfolio from a number of different industries.

Overview of the beauty and cosmetics industries

In 2019, the global cosmetics market was worth over $70bn, with a growth increase of 4% from the previous year. Makeup and skincare are the most dynamic segments with an increase of 8.4%, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for 37% of total consumption.

The steady growth of the beauty and cosmetics industries has also been pushed by online sales, which in recent years have been booming, thanks to the rise of beauty bloggers and vloggers, who share their tutorials on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. It is no coincidence that beauty and cosmetic companies have recently abandoned traditional marketing in favour of online marketing.

Makeup and beauty videos represent a large business on YouTube. In 2019, makeup-related videos received over 200bn views, the most successful ones being makeup and hair tutorials, and product reviews of the most prestigious brands.

Cosmetic stocks to watch

Revlon (REV)

Revlon is a US multinational company that was founded in 1932 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It manufactures makeup, skin and personal care products, as well as perfumes.

Inter Parfums (IPAR)

As the name suggests, Inter Parfums operates in the perfume sector. The company manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances under different brands, such as JIMMY CHOO, Bebe, Paul Smith, Abercrombie & Fitch and COACH. The company markets its fragrances to department stores, perfumeries, wholesalers, national and international distributors.

Estée Lauder (EL)

Estée Lauder is one of the largest companies in the field of makeup, perfumes, skincare and haircare products. Founded by Joseph and Estée Lauder in 1946 in New York, where it still retains its headquarters, it has approximately 28,500 employees and an annual turnover of $7bn. Estée Lauder products are sold in over 150 countries under many different brand names including Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, MAC and Tory Burch.

L’Oréal (OR)

L’Oréal is a French-based cosmetics company. It has the highest worldwide turnover in the beauty and cosmetics sectors, specialising in hair colouring, skincare products and makeup. It has acquired a large number of companies, including Carita, Décléor and IT Cosmetics.

Trade on dozens of cosmetic stocks

Coty (COTY)

Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies, owning approximately 80 brands, including Calvin Klein, Chloé and Hugo Boss. The company manufactures body care products and cosmetics, although its main business is represented by perfumes, which accounts for 65% of the company’s turnover.

Nu Skin (NUS)

Nu Skin is an American company that develops and sells personal care products and nutritional supplements under the Nu Skin and Phamanex brands. Nu Skin was founded in 1984 and a year later, it opened its Hong Kong office, thus beginning its operations in Asia. In 1996, the company’s stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company markets its products in 54 countries through a network of approximately 1.2m independent distributors.

Unilever (ULVR)

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch company with 400 brands and headquarters in both the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. The company does not operate exclusively in the cosmetic sector, but it also makes and sells consumer goods such as food, beverages, and hygiene and household products. Unilever is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Shiseido (4911)

Shiseido is the largest Japanese manufacturer of cosmetic and beauty products, as well as the oldest cosmetic company in the world. The group includes 26 brands that are divided into business areas such as prestige, fragrance, cosmetic, personal care and professional care. In addition to the products marketed under the Shiseido brand, the company also owns other subsidiary brands.

e.l.f. Cosmetics (ELF)

e.l.f. Cosmetics is an American cosmetics brand, with products ranging from skincare to makeup. The company claims that all of its products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. More than half of the company’s sales come from its e-commerce store and its social media channels have over 20 million followers worldwide. Discover more vegan stocks here.

Beiersdorf (BEI)

Beiersdorf is a German multinational company based in Hamburg that manufactures personal care products and is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company is controlled by Maxingvest, a holding company of the Günter Herz family. Some of its well-known brands are Nivea, Tesa, Labello, Eucerin and Hansaplast.

How to trade on cosmetic stocks with CMC Markets

Trading cosmetic stocks could be an effective way to diversify your portfolio. We offer two products that can be used to speculate on the price movements of the above shares, including:

Spread betting. Spread betting is a tax efficient way* of speculating on the price movements of cosmetic stocks in the UK.
CFD trading. CFDs allows you to speculate on both the rising and falling prices of cosmetics stocks.

Please note that spread bets and CFDs are leveraged products and come with high risk of losses. Before you start trading, make sure you understand the risks of trading on margin and whether you are in a position to afford potential losses.

Open a live account to trade on some of our top beauty and cosmetic stocks. This will automatically grant you access to a free demo account, where you can practise trading first with virtual funds.

*Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.

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*The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is an independent body that offers protection to customers of financial services firms that have failed. The compensation amount may be up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm. Eligibility conditions apply. Please contact the FSCS for more information.