NEW YORK – Puig is face-forward.

"Particularly after the recent dynamic months, we have greater confidence than ever in our stand-alone story," said Jose Manuel Albesa, Puig chief executive officer, during a call with financial analysts and journalists Thursday.

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He was making reference to the merger talks between Puig and the Estée Lauder Cos., which were called off on May 21.

"We remain laser-focused on delivering our strategic priorities," Albesa said.

The comments came as he presented the Spanish beauty and fashion company's results, which were released after market close.

In the second quarter, growth trends for the group remained broadly unchanged versus the first quarter.

Puig's sales in the three months ended June 30 rose 4.1 percent on a reported basis to 1.14 billion euros, driven by its fragrance and fashion, makeup and dermocosmetics activities. The like-for-like increase was aligned, as foreign exchange headwinds disappeared.

The quarterly result for the owner of Rabanne, Carolina Herrera and Dries Van Noten beauty and fashion was slightly ahead of market expectations with consensus estimates anticipating a 3.6 percent gain.

In the first six months of 2026, group sales were up 2.4 percent in reported terms and 4.4 percent on a like-for-like basis, to 2.35 billion euros. Reported net profit decreased 4.4 percent to 263 million euros, while the profit margin improved by 15 basis points to 19.5 percent.

"Once again, we outperformed the premium beauty market, gaining market share across categories and geographies, and further strengthening the foundation of our business," Albesa said.

All of Puig's business segments and geographies delivered growth.

"The impact of the ongoing situation in the Middle East is estimated to be approximately 14 million euros in the first half of 2026," Albesa said. That is 0.6 percent of total sales in the period.

"It's slightly better than we had initially expected," he said. "The local markets are showing healthy recovery, while it was the travel-retail channel where we saw continued impact."

In the six-month period, fragrance and fashion generated 73 percent of total sales of 1.7 billion euros, representing like-for-like growth of 3.8 percent. This helped bolster Puig's market share rise to 11.1 percent, up 0.3 percentage points versus the same prior-year period.

"Asia-Pacific, travel retail and North America were the strongest [contributors] in this period," Albesa said. Both prestige and niche fragrances helped drive growth.

With 359 million euros in sales, up 9.1 percent, makeup made 15 percent of Puig's total net sales in the half. This reflected the strength of Charlotte Tilbury, a leader that increased its share in the premium makeup category by 0.4 percentage points. It maintained the top spot in the U.K. with healthy sell-out, according to Albesa. The brand continued strengthening its position in core European markets, where it's in the top three.

"It is continuing to build its presence in newer markets," Albesa said.

Charlotte Tilbury expanded into about 30 Boots U.K. locations in the second quarter. The move should start reflecting in sellout trends beginning in the third quarter.

Skin care is Puig's smallest product segment, making just 12 percent of total company sales, or 279 million euros, up 2.3 percent like-for-like. Uriage was the largest contributor to the segment growth and continued outperforming the dermocosmetics market with double-digit gains across key geographies.

"The latest market data suggests that Uriage continues to be one of the fastest-growing dermocosmetics brands in 2026," Albesa said, adding that growth opportunities remain.

In the second quarter, Puig's skin care business generated sales of 132 million euros, a 0.3 percent decline.

"While dermocosmetics, led by Uriage, continued to deliver double-digit growth and the local skin care wellness brands continued to gain market share, the performance this quarter was offset by softer trends in premium skin care," Albesa said, explaining that consumers have been exploring efficacy and value-focused propositions.

There was also a negative impact from a product line adjustment for Charlotte Tilbury skin care.

Around the World

The CEO touted Puig's international footprint and pointed to healthy growth.

Albesa said Asia-Pacific once again delivered an outstanding performance.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa zone is Puig's largest, making 52 percent of sales, or 1.2 billion euros, a 2.6 like-for-like gain. "The performance reflected positive dynamics across Europe, supported by continuous strength of our fragrance portfolio and broad-based growth across key markets, despite some impact from the ongoing situation in the Middle East," Albesa said.

Puig's fragrance market share in Europe reached 11.2 percent.

The Americas made 859 million euros, up 2.6 percent like-for-like. That represents 37 percent of company revenues. The results reflected the strength of North America, where Puig continued outperforming the market. There, the group has 8.3 percent fragrance market share and Puig was supported by strong makeup sell-out.

"Latin America remained resilient," Albesa said. Puig maintained its number-one ranking in its fragrance market, with share above 20 percent in a competitive and highly promotional environment.

Asia-Pacific generated 12 percent of Puig's overall sales, or 273 million euros, a 20.9 percent like-for-like rise. It was the group's strongest regional turnout.

"This outstanding performance was driven by the exceptional momentum in niche fragrance and continued strong consumer demand across the region," Albesa said. "Fragrance value market share continued to grow [there]."

In the Asia-Pacific region, Charlotte Tilbury maintained an exceptional trajectory, further strengthening its position across key markets, according to Albesa.

Looking Ahead

"Our first-half performance reinforces our conviction in the attractiveness of our brands, the relevance of our innovation pipeline and the attractive long-term fundamentals of our end markets," he said. "Our business continues to demonstrate agility, executional flexibility and the diversification required to navigate the current environment."

Due to this, Puig reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance. It expects to outperform the premium beauty market on a like-for-like basis, while maintaining a stable adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin in line with 2025.

"The premium beauty market category continues to offer attractive structural growth, and we believe Puig is uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity," Albesa said.

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