Kering, the Gucci owner, published its full-year 2025 results on February 10, 2026, and the headline number was stark: group operating income totaled €1.63 billion, less than a third of its 2022 level, per Reuters. Yet the stock rallied on the report, because fourth-quarter sales fell less than analysts feared. For beauty readers, the more consequential storyline sits one step away from the runway: Kering's beauty business is being sold to L'Oréal, and the Gucci fragrance and makeup license is moving with it.
How weak were Kering's 2025 numbers?
Weak at the bottom line, steadier at the top. Per Reuters, fourth-quarter sales declined less than expected even as Gucci's slide continued. Per Kering's own results release dated February 10, 2026, Gucci generated €966 million in recurring operating income for 2025, with its operating margin down 4.9 points to 16.1 percent. Shares surged on the reporting day, per Reuters, as investors read the quarter as evidence that the worst of the decline might be slowing under new leadership.
What is happening to Gucci beauty?
On October 19, 2025, Kering agreed to sell its beauty division, including the House of Creed, to L'Oréal in a deal valued at about €4 billion, per Reuters. As part of the same agreement, L'Oréal secured 50-year licenses to create fragrance and beauty lines under Kering's couture houses, including Gucci and Bottega Veneta. The transaction was expected to close in the first half of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, so as of early March 2026 the handover was still in progress.
Why does a fragrance license matter to shoppers?
Because licenses decide who formulates, packages, and distributes the products you smell at the counter. Gucci's makeup and fragrance have been produced under a license operated by Coty, and the move to L'Oréal, a company with one of the industry's largest fragrance operations, could mean new distribution, reformulated or expanded lines, and different retail placement over time. Formula changes, if they come, would show up in ingredient listings and packaging updates rather than overnight, so the practical advice is the same one that applies to any beauty you love: check the label when you repurchase.
What should you watch next?
The deal's completion, expected in the first half of 2026, and Kering's quarterly updates for signs that Gucci's sales trajectory is stabilizing. If you wear Gucci fragrance or makeup, nothing about the products changes the day the deal closes; transitions of this size typically take quarters, not days. But the direction of travel is clear: one of fashion's biggest beauty licenses is moving to the world's largest beauty company.
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