We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Skincare Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) stands against the other skincare stocks.

According to NielsenIQ, the global beauty market is expected to increase by 7.3% annually to reach $1 trillion in 2025, with Latin America by 19.1% and Africa-Middle East by 27.1% leading the way. Since TikTok Shop is the eighth-largest health and beauty shop in the US and generates around $1 billion in sales, e-commerce now accounts for 41% of US beauty sales. Nevertheless, 43% of customers believe that anti-theft methods like locked shelves discourage them from returning to a store. The fragrance and bath & shower segments drove the US beauty market’s 6.2% sales growth in 2024. Boomers choose product efficacy and anti-aging remedies, while Gen Z stresses skincare and values-driven companies. As a result, brands must implement data-driven generational strategies. To retain customer trust and relevance across changing demographics, successful beauty players will strike a balance between innovation and sustainability, integrating digital and physical shopping, and guaranteeing inclusivity and transparency.

On February 12, 2025, Circana reported that sales in the US beauty industry have increased for the fourth consecutive year. According to the report, mass-market beauty sales rose by 3% in 2024, while prestige beauty sales climbed 7% year over year to $33.9 billion. The fastest-growing prestige category was fragrance, which now accounts for 28% of prestige beauty sales and is the second-largest prestige category with double-digit unit growth and dollar sales up 12%. The growth rates for eau de parfums and parfums were 14% and 43%, respectively. Sales of high-end products surged by 12%, while sales of body sprays and hair fragrances jumped by 94% and 32%.

Specifically, skincare concluded the year as the slowest-growing category in the prestige market, with dollar sales up 2% and units expanding slightly faster—and a modest rise in both metrics in the mass market. Since top-performing masstige brands that are distributed across markets are propelling growth in both, skincare has emerged as the market that is best aligned across mass and prestige. Face cleansers and lip treatments were among the standout categories in the premium market. Body care products, such as lotions, creams, cleansers, and hand soaps, continued to outperform the facial market.

As per Circana’s report, the beauty industry continues to evolve as a result of the “skinification” of beauty, which involves incorporating skincare ingredients into body care, hair care, and makeup products. The first half of 2024 saw a 7% spike in U.S. skincare sales, with unit sales up 10% YoY. Body care and sun care are driving this growth, outpacing facial care as retinoids, AHAs, and vitamin C penetrate into these markets. Furthermore, this innovation drove double-digit growth in makeup sales, driven by serum foundations that give skin benefits and coverage and are packed with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and squalane. Hybrid makeup-skincare products are sought after by more than half of American consumers, with 60% of Gen Z and Millennials giving them top priority. Even the haircare industry has adopted skinification; salicylic and glycolic acids are popular for scalp care, and fragrance companies are experimenting with alcohol-free formulas to cater to sensitive skin. Brands must innovate and educate to remain competitive as consumers’ demands for multipurpose, benefit-driven products grow.

Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry advisor at Circana, stated:

“The beauty industry’s resilience continues to shine as consumers turn to beauty to not only look, but also feel good.” “With beauty products intertwined with consumers’ emotional needs and wellness routines, maximizing this opportunity will go a long way to ensure a healthy future for our industry.”

Looking ahead, according to Wendy Nicholson, managing director of Baird, commented:

“Skincare is one area where I think we’ll continue to see breakthroughs.”

She believes that when brands adapt to the change, consumer expenditure on injectibles and other treatments is likely to result in new product development.

Methodology:

We sifted through holdings of Beauty ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of 20 skincare stocks.  From the resultant dataset, we chose 10 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, using Insider Monkey’s database of 1,009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks. We have used the stock’s Revenue Growth Rate (year-over-year) as a tie-breaker in case two or more stocks have the same number of hedge funds invested.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 31

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is included in our list of the Best Beauty Stocks. It focuses on packaged food (34%), homecare (14%), and personal care (52% of total revenues in 2022). Its beauty brands include TRESemmé, Axe and Dove, Sunsilk, Clear, and Vaseline. Furthermore, the business owns renowned skincare brands like Paula’s Choice and Dermalogica.

All five Business Groups contributed to Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)’s impressive 2024 performance, which included an underlying volume growth of 2.9%. Across all Business Groups except Ice Cream, the gross margin grew by 280 basis points to 45%, exceeding pre-COVID levels. Strong consumer demand was evident in the Beauty & Wellbeing area, which saw a notable 6.5% underlying sales growth powered by a 5.1% volume growth. Moreover, the firm showed its dedication to shareholder returns by repurchasing shares and paying out $62.63 billion in dividends.

By the end of 2024, the company’s productivity initiative had already reduced 4,300 full-time positions, with a goal of 7,500 positions by the end of 2025. The Wellbeing and Prestige segments were the main drivers of North America’s exceptional performance, which included 7% growth and volumes above 6%. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)’s cash conversion was robust at 106%, above its long-term aim of roughly 100%, showing high operational effectiveness and cash generation.

Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the largest stakeholder in the company among the funds in Insider Monkey’s database at the end of Q4 2024. It owns 17.94 million shares worth $1.02 billion as of Q4

Overall UL ranks 10th on our list of the best skincare stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential for UL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.