L'Oreal vs Meta: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
L'Oreal reported ~$49.8B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$6.9B of net income. Meta reported $201B of revenue in FY2025 and $60.5B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
L'Oreal
L'Oréal's 2025 sales reached ~$49.8 billion (€44.05 billion), up 4.0% like-for-like and 1.3% as reported because of currency headwinds. Gross profit was ~$37 billion (€32.74 billion) (74.3% of sales), operating profit ~$10 billion (€8.89 billion) (20.2%) and net profit after non-controlling interests ~$6.93 billion (€6.13 billion). Net cash flow rose 7.8% to ~$8.14 billion (€7.2 billion). Growth sped up in 2026: first-quarter sales were ~$13.7 billion (€12.15 billion) (+7.6% like-for-like), and first-half sales were ~$26.9 billion (€23.77 billion), up 6.8% like-for-like and 5.8% reported. First-half operating profit rose 6.8% to ~$5.72 billion (€5.06 billion), a record 21.3% margin, and net profit excluding non-recurring items rose 4.7% to ~$4.47 billion (€3.96 billion). On 28 September 2026 L'Oréal's market value was about $232 billion (€205 billion), with the share near €380.
Meta
Meta's revenue grew from $116.609B in 2022 to $200.966B in 2025, and net income rose from $23.2B to $60.458B. FY2025 income from operations was $83.276B. In 2026 the story is spending: Q2 2026 costs rose 55% to $42.03B, the operating margin fell to 31% from 43%, and quarterly capex of $31.08B left free cash flow at $784M. Meta had $90.26B of cash and marketable securities and $83.66B of long-term debt at June 30, 2026. It expects 2026 total expenses of $165-169B and still expects 2026 operating income to exceed 2025.
Revenue and profit by year
L'Oreal
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$49.8B | ~$6.9B | 13.9% | +1.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$49.1B | ~$7.2B | 14.7% | +5.6% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$46.5B | ~$7B | 15.0% | +7.6% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$43.2B | ~$6.4B | 14.9% | +18.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$36.5B | ~$5.2B | 14.2% | — | Source |
Meta
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $201B | $60.5B | 30.1% | +22.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | $164.5B | $62.4B | 37.9% | +21.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $134.9B | $39.1B | 29.0% | +15.7% | Source |
| FY2022 | $116.6B | $23.2B | 19.9% | -1.1% | Source |
| FY2021 | $117.9B | $39.4B | 33.4% | +37.2% | Source |
| FY2020 | $86B | $29.1B | 33.9% | +21.6% | Source |
| FY2019 | $70.7B | $18.5B | 26.1% | +26.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $55.8B | $22.1B | 39.6% | +37.4% | Source |
| FY2017 | $40.7B | $15.9B | 39.2% | +47.1% | Source |
| FY2016 | $27.6B | $10.2B | 37.0% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
L'Oreal
- Consumer Products36.5%
~$18.2 billion (€16.09 billion) of 2025 sales. Mass-market brands L'Oréal Paris, Maybelline New York, Garnier, NYX Professional Makeup and Essie, sold through supermarkets, drugstores, mass retailers and e-commerce.
- L'Oréal Luxe35.4%
~$17.6 billion (€15.60 billion) of 2025 sales. Prestige brands including Lancôme, YSL Beauty, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Kiehl's, Aesop, Prada and Valentino, sold through department stores, Sephora-type specialists, travel retail and boutiques. Creed and the Kering licences joined from April 2026.
- Dermatological Beauty16.4%
~$8.14 billion (€7.20 billion) of 2025 sales. CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, Vichy and SkinCeuticals, sold mainly through pharmacies, health channels and online with dermatologist recommendation.
- Professional Products11.7%
~$5.83 billion (€5.16 billion) of 2025 sales. Salon brands Kérastase, L'Oréal Professionnel, Redken and Matrix, sold to hair salons and through their online channels.
Meta
- Advertising
~97.6% (FY2025)
Ads across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp; $196.175B in FY2025.
- Other revenue and Reality Labs
~2.4% (FY2025)
WhatsApp Business messaging, Meta Verified subscriptions, Quest headsets and Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
Business model and strategy
L'Oreal
How it makes money
L'Oréal makes money by developing, manufacturing and marketing beauty products that it sells to retailers, pharmacies, salons, travel retail and directly online.
Growth strategy
L'Oréal grows through innovation, acquisitions, licences and new markets. Recent deals include Aesop (2023, about $2.5 billion), a roughly 20% stake in Galderma, and Kering Beauté (2026, ~$4.52 billion (€4 billion)), which brought Creed plus 50-year licences for Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Gucci.
Competitive advantage
L'Oréal's edge comes from three things competitors rarely combine: a portfolio covering mass, luxury, dermatological and salon beauty; a research organisation of roughly 4,000 people that files about 500 patents a year; and distribution in about 150 countries across every channel. Because beauty is its only business, capital and talent are not split with food or household goods, unlike Unilever or Procter & Gamble.
Meta
How it makes money
Meta makes money by selling ads. Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads are free to use, and advertisers pay to reach people in feeds, Stories, Reels and click-to-message formats. Advertising produced $196.175B of Meta's $200.966B FY2025 revenue, about 97.6%. Q2 2026 growth came from 14% more ad impressions and a 12% higher average price per ad.
Growth strategy
Meta's growth plan runs through AI. Better ranking and ad-delivery models raise engagement on Reels and feeds and lift ad prices, which drove the 28% revenue growth in Q2 2026. Meta Superintelligence Labs, led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, released the first Muse Spark model in April 2026, followed by a paid API and the Muse consumer AI agent in September 2026.
Competitive advantage
Meta's moat is distribution plus data. Its apps reach 3.60 billion people every day, so new products such as Threads, Meta AI and Muse can launch to a huge audience at once. Advertisers stay because Meta's AI ad tools such as Advantage+ convert across that audience at a scale only Google matches. Meta also owns its compute, custom MTIA chips and frontier models, which reduces its dependence on outside AI suppliers.
Questions about L'Oreal vs Meta
Which company has higher revenue — L'Oréal SA or Meta Platforms, Inc.?
L'Oréal SA reported ~$49.8B (FY2025), while Meta Platforms, Inc. reported $201.0B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Meta Platforms, Inc. is the larger business, with L'Oréal SA reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of L'Oréal SA vs Meta Platforms, Inc.?
L'Oréal SA's market capitalisation stands at $204.9B, while Meta Platforms, Inc.'s is $1.90T. Meta Platforms, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to L'Oréal SA.
Which is more financially efficient — L'Oréal SA or Meta Platforms, Inc.?
L'Oréal SA generates $524k / employee in revenue per employee, while Meta Platforms, Inc. generates $2.66M / employee. Meta Platforms, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do L'Oréal SA and Meta Platforms, Inc. make money?
L'Oréal SA and Meta Platforms, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. L'Oréal SA: L'Oréal makes money by developing, manufacturing and marketing beauty products that it sells to retailers, pharmacies, salons, travel retail and directly online. Meta Platforms, Inc.: Meta makes money by selling ads.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — L'Oréal SA or Meta Platforms, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, L'Oréal SA trades at 4.1x P/S and Meta Platforms, Inc. at 9.5x P/S. Meta Platforms, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to L'Oréal SA. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is L'Oréal SA bigger than Meta Platforms, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Meta Platforms, Inc. ($201.0B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to L'Oréal SA (~$49.8B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the L'Oreal vs Meta overview