Sales Gains Slow at Beiersdorf

Beiersdorf executives warned that gains within its personal care business will slow for the remainder of 2025. The warning came during the Q3 earnings call today. Still, Beiersdorf delivered results in line with expectations in the first nine months of 2025. It navigated a challenging market environment through innovation-led performance, according to executives. Driven by strong Derma results, organic group sales rose 2% to €7.5 billion ($8.7 billion) for the nine months. Yet, it’s not the first time Beiersdorf issued a warning.

On the current market development, CEO Vincent Warnery commented: “We saw a further deceleration of the skincare market in the third quarter of 2025 especially in emerging markets, which is why we now expect an organic sales growth for our Consumer business of around 2.5% for the full year.”

Still, Warnery said the company achieved outstanding performance of its derma business.

“It proves that we can continue to outperform the competition and deliver double-digit growth,” said Warnery. “For Nivea, we are taking decisive action to refuel growth in a challenging market. The biggest Nivea launch of all time with our breakthrough ingredient Epicelline shows very promising early results. By broadening our skincare focus and reinforcing deodorants as a strategic growth pillar, we are strengthening Nivea’s position for long-term success. Our strategy for Nivea remains on track.”

Consumer: Innovation-Led Growth and Portfolio Rebalancing

The Consumer Business Segment recorded organic sales growth of 2.0% in the first nine months of the year. In nominal terms, sales remained at the previous year’s level of €6.3 billion ($7.3 billion).

In the first nine months of 2025, Nivea recorded organic sales growth of 0.6%, reflecting a continued slowdown in the mass market, especially in Latin America and Eastern Europe. To strengthen the brand’s long-term growth trajectory, Nivea initiated a targeted adjustment of its core portfolio. The move broadens Nivea’s presence across all skincare categories and to reinforce high-potential segments such as deodorant, while face care continues to play a central role. Nivea remains committed to its role as a value-for-money brand with accessible pricing. At the same time, customers are willing to pay for breakthrough innovations, as demonstrated by the new Nivea Cellular Epigenetics Serum with Epicelline. The global launch began in September and will continue through the end of the year. Early signs are promising: In September, Nivea achieved organic growth of 7.8% – showing a clear upward trend, supported by the positive reception of the new Nivea Derma Control antiperspirant range.

Skincare Brands Win Share

The Derma Eucerin and Aquaphor brands won market share across regions. In the first nine months, the Derma business delivered organic sales growth of 12.3%, despite a tough comparison base from last year. Even one year after its launch, the Eucerin Epigenetic Serum with Epicelline remained a key growth driver, performing strongly across multiple markets. In North America, Eucerin Face achieved 56% organic sales growth in the third quarter, supported by the launch of the Eucerin Radiant Tone range with Thiamidol earlier this year.

La Prairie organic sales fell 7.2% in the first nine months of 2025, but returned to growth in the third quarter with organic sales growth of 1.6%. Despite ongoing market volatility, La Prairie continued its sequential quarterly improvement as planned. China remained a key growth driver, achieving 3% organic sales growth in Q3, supported by strong e-commerce momentum. As a part of its expansion strategy, La Prairie entered the Indian market with an exclusive launch on the e-commerce platform Nykaa – further enhancing the brand’s global premium footprint.

Guidance for 2025 Adjusted

Beiersdorf adjusts its full-year guidance for 2025 to reflect the slower market environment in the third quarter.

For the Consumer Business Segment, Beiersdorf expects organic sales growth of around 2.5%. The EBIT margin from ongoing operations (excluding special factors) is expected to increase by 20 basis points compared to the previous year’s level (2024: 13.4%).

For the tesa Business Segment, the company continues to expect organic sales growth in the range of 1–3% and an EBIT margin from ongoing operations (excluding special factors) of around 16%.

Based on the guidance for both business segments, Group organic sales growth is expected to be around 2.5% with the Group EBIT margin from ongoing operations (excluding special factors) slightly above the previous year’s level (2024: 13.9%).