Despite the ongoing challenges of the macroenvironment, it was good news for beauty companies, which continued to be buoyed by the rise of dermocosmetics and China's resurgence.

Beauty-makers are flexing in various categories and geographies. Here is a look at four major takeaways from the most recent quarterly earnings season, ended Sept. 30.

The dermocosmetics category, which sits at the crossroads of dermatology and traditional cosmetics, kept rising in importance for beauty companies in the third quarter of 2026.

At L’Oréal, the world’s biggest beauty company, the Dermatological Beauty division tied with the Professional Products division as the fastest grower in the three months ended Sept. 30, with an adjusted like-for-like sales rise of 13.9 percent.

Each of the three billionaire brands in the branch, La Roche-Posay, CeraVe and SkinCeuticals, grew by double digits.

“Dermocosmetics is an area of strategic focus for Puig, as reinforced with the recent announcement [of acquiring] the remaining 50 percent of Isdin,” said chief executive officer José Manuel Albesa, during a call with financial analysts and journalists, referencing the announcement the group made on Sept. 14 that it had agreed to take full ownership of the brand for 1.2 billion euros.

He described Isdin as being “at the forefront of skin care, photoprotection and photoaging, rooted in medical credibility” and an important step in Puig’s long-term strategy.

Puig believes dermocosmetics will be skin care’s fastest-growing category in the years to come. In the third quarter, the category, led by the group’s Uriage brand, continued delivering double-digit gains.

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